Author Archives: HHaricot

Abbalicious

when I got home from work I was treated to an Abba dance display from both my girls. we will have to start u-tubing again. SB is getting a good wiggle, and was being v inventive with moves. BB was half a move behind, often trying to mimic big sis. lovely.

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Earlier in the day they had been mostly tidying their bedroom! SB also read all the Quentin Blake bookset we got from the book people ages ago. she is turning into a real little bookworm. well, with 2 keen parents, I guess there is a good gene for head-in-a-book.

SB has done a minute bit of maths about measuring in cm and m. Also a single page of getty and dubay B for hand writing. [these were the requested somethings!!]

When I got home, Sb and I did some violin practice together, she did a bit of webland, and was very grumpy because she couldn’t spot what was wrong with the picture! I read to BB, and Sb and BB played cafe before watching a short bit of a magic school bus before tea.

Babywearing

Feeling boring at work and at home, with no sparkle. prob just from such a tough weekend sapping all vitality, but hope to improve!

edited to add. rather amusingly, when I got home chris went out ot buy some veg – i thought to avoid yet another bean meal but we had beans anyway! he then rang me as he had credit card and no PIN, so I had to scurry round the house to find the bit of paper with it written on. SB thought this weirdest of all, as he needed a number? we considered how many number combinations it would be before daddy guessed right, and her head was spinning v quickly!

weekend HE

BB is feeling very autonomous these days! she draws, she tries to read books all the time, she enjoys watching language videos: first fun with french/spanish, and bonjour mes amis. She loves the magic school bus tv programme and pretends her little bus is the same one and it goes on similar adventures! I’ve read to her a lot usbourne starting science books. She loves to sing and dance. go girl!! She also is being rather horrible to SB – often with no cause or provocations – i guess that is strong willed 2, but not happy for SB to bear the brunt of it, so behaviour modification required [for all of us]

SB not quite so industrious [rofl] has done some maths, lots of playing with barbies, tidying her room of doom. when I have been at home [some of today] we read some books together – on castles and evolution. yesterday she looked at countries on the globe and maps looking where nana and grandad and now nanny and grandad have been/are on holiday. She’s watched some nina and the neurons. She’s read lots of books herself – likes enid blyton short stories a lot. She has nearly completed her mosaic suncatcher. that might be about it! Oh, she has finally got to the top of the rainbows waiting list – woohoo!

Popping to add this – hunstanton with grandparents

SB and BB spent last thurs [30/31 aug] with grandparents to allow chris to do more windowing. They all had a fab time, particularly enjoying the fair and the sea. A proper day trip.

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pom pom madness

last day of SB’s cheerleading course today, which she really enjoyed. we got to see her and the class do their pompom routine. fab.

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lots of reading of the amazon books today. BB loved the 100 ants book, SB has read all the jane and the dragon ones, and flicked through the port through time and wants to start next with a sir cumference one.

we got 2 brightminds catalogues through the post today. SB went through seeing what she might fancy for christmas. she decided she would put more ticks by the things she really wanted, and then a r for really!! i should take a photo of some of them, as she obviously got v excited. She got derailed by seeing something for people just learning to read, and wants to buy it of amelie’s birthday. I said we should check with Merry, but she got out all her money from her piggy bank, and can just afford it so she wants me to know
when i order things so that she can give me the money. she is so generous it makes me proud and love her greatly.

otherwise today, i had the paddling pool out so that the girls could make the most of nakedness in the sun. oh, and i had a migraine – AGAIN

back at work

and tues and thurs are my longest days!

anyway, whilst i was out, SB and BB went with Chris to the library and got a magnet each for the big wild read thingy

SB had first cheerleading course day [2hours on 2 days] nd unsurprisingly she loved it.

my amazon order arrived – woohoo

Chris had made plum crumble for my pudding – yummy

and the girls dramatically happy to see me, so v hard to eat any of my tea with a girl in each arm.

When amazon box opened, chris read about 100 ants whilst I had my ccup of tea, and SB read one of the Jane and the Dragon books [she was reading enid blyton short stories when i got home, she really is a snappy reader now]

a no photo day

as the girls chose to spend it entirely in the birthday suit! this is not unusual for BB – whose photo’s I regularly crop, but is more unusual for SB. SO no photos – well chris took one of a hidden window!

BB came to me this morning saying she wanted me to “fill the sky with water” , ermm why? ” the sky with the rainbow, fill it with water”. SB earnestly explained how to make rainbows with a hosepipe as an alternative to doing a raindance and hoping for the best [she got the technical words mostly too]. ANyway, I had a lightbulb moment, and got out the sky patterned pool! SO i did and she was most happy. While doing this, SB ran a shoe shop for us – very proficiently.

SO most of the day was messing around outside. Did hang out he washingg chris did [including the disp in shorts pocket!] . 3 loads went through. SB and BB argued over who could help me hang it out, so they both did and it took 2ce as long – rofl. we all watered the greenhouse, splashed in the pool and generally chilled. All of us except chris of course, as he was up a ladder.
We did do some more painting – lots of leaves for our tree made from hand prints. Then green papers so we can cut camouflaged things from it.
Then the girls washed off in the sky pool and did lots of loon like playing agian – rofl.

I made for tea… yes, you guessed it BEAN with chick peas etc stew to fill tortillas. oh yes, earlier I blanched loads of beans with SB’s help to freeze. Maybe we will eat something different tomorrow!

BB and SB helped me make maize flour tortillas – except they didn’t really bend or wrap, so more like flat breads! A wind down with first fun with spanish.
BB fell asleep, so SB and I finished our fab rainforest challenge book/game  and unlocked the box to find the game and bits inside. SB was ecstatic. She also read another magic tree house chapter, and I read the rest of from lava to life.

And tomorrow, to work.

Having a great day

children playing happily. the difference? sun and a pool I think!

Chris the window man

he only fell off the ladder once – when he thought he had reached the bottom. Heart jumped into mouth as I thought he was going to crack head open on fishpond. Had thought we would need scaffolding, I might be right!

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so a quiet day in

i was going to go to the inland waterways festival, as that looked fun, but it was hot, and BB needs a bit more attention. SO we stayed in, and tried to get a working pattern that incorporates 2-ness.The girls watched some edutainment DVD’d whilst i napped – chris’ll know what! [edits to add - gorillas, and also read why are people different]

When I got up, SB migrated to the ‘puter to do jump ahead, which she enjoys, and I read and cuddled BB, hoping some one 2 one would set the tone for a happy day ahead – rofl.

BB and SB both wanted to make ice lollies, so we managed to find enough bits to do that, and I also got SB to make up a tray of ice colours [paint mixed in water]. bemused, she did it, and all went in the freezer.

Since it was a nice day, I got out the cheap tent that i had got from the tesco sale a while back, and BB and I put it up. She was very impressed with it, and happily pottered inside doing some happy maize, whilst i went between her and SB trouble shooting.

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SB joined her, and they were playing so happily that i took the opportunity of digging up some potatoes. Got very stung by the nettles, and fingers still twitching a bit from that. obviously when I was at very grubbiest there was a wail about tent ownership, so we all read books together taking turns. mostly apple tree farm for BB, and stories from around the world for SB.

Decided that it was obviously lunchtime! SB and BB agreed on Muzzy German as an acceptable compromise on video, and watched the complete second level while I made home grown spuds, beans and carrots with sausages for them, and chris and i home grown spuds, beans aubergines and onion fritatta for us. yummy. SB ate hers whilst finishing watching the programme.

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Both had had a mood boost at this point, and SB did some more jump ahead and BB pottered in the tent. the paints were frozen, and both girls liked the idea of cool painting in the sun, so we did that very pleasantly and co-operatively – hooray.

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the girls then had some sweetie letters [from little nanny] that then kept them engaged for ages longer as they had made games out of them, families of colours, letters and then shops. I fed our fish, BB cycled and then SB read me the why were the pyramids built. She then harvested loads of beans and tomatoes, which I must do something with once this blog written.

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I cooked a bean [surprise!] pea, sweetcorn and lentil curry for tea, with an additional home grown aubergine and paneer curry for us – yummy. The girls watched a magic school bus episode while i did this, as CHris showering, and it seemed they might settle- they did.

BB fell asleep after tea, SB watched tots tv, read some magic tree house, and is now in bed – maybe asleep?

chris has spent all day hard at work cleaning the big arch window and getting some of the paint off it. it needs new putty and repainting with linseed based paint. will hopefully be then watertight. some bricks also need the lime mortar repointed – we know someone for advice there ;¬)

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dragonfly

pubs and bank holidays do not mix

bah humbug, both the near to us pubs are taking it turns to belt out music. last night was accross the road – so not too bad. but tonight and tomorrow it is next door. aarrgh!!