Category Archives: Cooking

Some Home-Ed

cos actually we did some, and feel that my blog is going to win the most depressing blog of the year award unless I take radical action [ie lie!]

got home from work, and not only did BB smile at me when I walked in, she giggled with joy. Now this has to be a great anti-depressant. Then fed her for hours! Unfortunately SB was wailing as has just banged the back of her head against a cupboard and developed a huge egg! She got a mini space hopeer for her birthday, and absolutely loves it. Bouncing madly around the house, however, is not risk free. We had a bit of a fight over whether she could bounce at the top of the stairs – hmm!

Anyway, she had made oat biscuits in the shape of dinosaurs with Chris, so we iced them in girly pink with sprinkles together. we did a fair bit of hide and seek, and other joining in type games. The at 5 she found her clock to make – which she won at Melrose – so we did the painting, and on Wed when it is dry, we will do the glueing. Read the DK why does for bubbles and rumbling tummies. She also did some maths with Chris while I took phone calls re Nanny. We inspected out seeds from a week ago – sweetcorn, peas and french beans germinated, runners and courgettes awaited. Chatted about why some things faster than others. Fun bath with BB as well – who luckilly didn’t drown from all that loving!

Mum and Dad have ordered bed and sorted out turning Nanny’s dining room into bedroom, so all done for whenever discharged – fantastic. Poor Dad driving down to Italy on his own though – so now worried about that. Mum flying out at weekend. She’s suggest I spend friday with family instead, but not keen to abuse trust of colleagues when they have really tried hard to help and support me.

Oh and BB taking well to solids, had a lick of my chocolate icecream and gave a giggle to that too – obviously liked it! She’s 6 months this weekend.

Thankyou for friendly post comments, does make a difference.

Feet up, cold beer ……..

Helen has had to do another resident on call 24 hour shift :-( :-( :-( – no this won’t be the normal arrrangement. If the house was fitted with an Infinite Improbability Drive (yep, just watched the rerun of HHGTTG), I would have whiled away the evening in peace on the sofa, beer in hand, laptop at hand to catch up on the ring and things with the shiny new ADSL connection (a man of simple pleasures…).

Back in this reality, managed to get Stringbean off to bed while Butterbean played in her cot reasonably happily, but then she spent the evening either drinking a modicum of milk, stopping, having another doze in bit while I cuddled her etc. but as soon as I went off to do something – 10 inutes later – ‘Wahhh’…… Daft thing is all she really want’s is a right good feed I suspect, she can now happily slurp it down from bottle if she wants to. But all she does is drink at most an ounze then stop, so of course feels like some more a bit later. For a normal working day, drinking just enough to wet her whistle is ok, in a situation like this it can make things a bit harder (though she was happier on Sunday). Anyway, grabbing a few minutes whle I can. If the kitchen table is still covered in the muffin making remains tomorrow Karen you know why :-)

Still quiet, so here was today:

Beans all up by time H was off to work, spent a pleasant 1 1/2 hours or so breakfasting, feeding Butterbean, well moslty making mess really. helping SB do this alphabet block puzzle thing I scavenged from a closing school. Easy for her really, as she know s the letters and the alphabet, though she can’t always yet say what letter comes after another without ‘singing the alphabet song’. Spent an inordinate amount of time getting ready to go out – to SB ‘ Go and get some clothes while I change BB’ . 10 minutes later she is still faffing around in her favoured unclothed state….. What with having to take dolly out in her pushcahir as well, and of course the library only being a minutes walk or so around the corner we were of course late (but only just) for Story Time. The reader (it’s all a voluntary thing) was reading storys with froggy themes. I particulalry liked the Hoppameleon which I’d not come across before. Finished off with a froggy sticky crafty thing which kept SB happy while I chatted a bit. Back home via the shops, big buggy + SB and dolly buggy = a fair bit of chaos :-) I did well to restrain myself to just a loaf of (very yummy) bread in the bakers.

At home, SB played beautifully with BB and by herself when BB got fed up while I fiddled about trying to get the ADSL connection to work properly, after calls to tech support, reboots, trying different ‘putes etc. I of course tried the obvious in retrospect option of resetting the router and redoing the setup, after which it did the inscrutable computer thing and worked……

Ahh, I hear BB calling, time for bed. Rest of day involved, lunching, pottering about outside, reading, trying to find something for SB to do with Boggle, trip to check out the local playground (never one near enought to our old house so that was nice), muffin making, dinner, bed etc.

Night all :-)

Pah, and now I can’t contact the websrver to upload the post….. :-(

just about held it today!

Must get some sleep though, as shattered by bathtime.

SB not so amenable today, and we had yet another troubled night with BB – 2 feeds in the night after a delayed start ‘cos chris woke us both up when he came to bed!

Again an early start, and this time a bit of bailing out, as we watched half of Shrek with brekkie. Ed value though [citizenship] as we could discuss looks not being the important thing, how you can get wrong end of stick from half heard conversations – who am I trying to kid??? We just enjoyed it snuggled up all together on the sofa,and had a couple of throwaway line discussion!

rang my Mum, so we reboiled the fudge – apparently she often has to reboil it – and this time it has set. i think, joyce, that it prob is much more like tablet than shop fudge as not all squish, but sets hard? [domestic science]. SB particularly happy that she gets to do lickings again! LOL.

We had another prolonged nappy change, and although not baby massage, I’m getting better at trying to integrate SB and BB’s play together – we sang songs and rowed boats, wheels on busses etc. SB does love BB, but usually in a rather overly boisterous spur of the moment shouty way. We also played with her rattles, making up stories to keep SB OK – about 7/10 for success, albeit for about 30 mins only. [sibling issues/ childcare and development [LOL]]

We had veg and noodles for lunch – mine had tofu, SB not so keen. And – def shamed head – watched Shrek 2!!!!!

Hama-ed on and off in the afternoon, actually truthfully involving maths, counting, adding, subtracting. Also patterns, shapes etc. [maths], we also read some of the letterland, and did jolly phonics flashcards [literacy]

Tried to interest SB in playing on her own doing jigsaws so I could have a bit of 1to1 with BB, but totally unsuccesful. Ditto the dressing up the paper flower fairies, dot to dotting.

BB had a long sleep, and during that, we had a long go with the DK world explorer, and finished the first travel adventure thing, and some of the sticker pages. [geography] Although I’m not going to pretend SB has huge insight into this, she was getting the hang of continents, and the repeats – USA and China. Since at the moment, my idea of geography is local [when weather improves and we move, we will ‘map’ our area. We did that here for Leeds and she enjoyed it. I’m taking some photos of local landmarks here- ie the co-op, postoffice etc – so we can perhaps do another map and lapbook it, including friends, nursery, gym etc] But I still think dripfeeding the idea of the world, countries, key sites in them etc in a fun way – with no attempt on my part to add any educational snippets – is setting up foundations. I do try and tie countries in with whether I’ve been there, if we know someone from there, if we plan to visit there etc.

now I’ve got completely lost with so many asides?? oh yes, solicitor rang – guess what…….. Still no exchange, as our vendors still not ready – if I roll eyes much more, they may take on vortex properties and suck brain in from behind [prob not be noticeable though].

Hama-ing again when Chris came home – I think he was impressed by fudge! I then slumped on sofa with BB, while Chris and SB did something secret in kitchen. A its my 36th birthday tomorrow, I am expecting that it may be related [craft!]

Spaghetti arrabiata for tea, and SB surprised me by eating it all without any complaints of its spiciness – cos it was quite chilli-ish.
I then set free my TCS self by agreeing that SB could scamper outside without coat etc on although 6pm and cold – door left open for her to scamper back into. Gave me the giggles, as she was practising being a viking warrior with a spear [bamboo cane!] and also beating imaginary somethings out of the cherry tree with it. She was giggling and talking all the while. jumped around so much that although hands cold, she wasn’t.[PE] However, when she asked me to join her, I switched to my TAS mode, and decided it was too cold!

Bathtime, fruit supper, books and bed for SB. More feeding for BB, and relaxing for me watching how not to decorate. i thought living room still entirely hideous on completion! Also feel that they really are too insulting for my comfort level. Had some fudge – very nice!

Good day tomorrow, as going to a mother blessing – must engage mind for poem. Have bead and sparklies, no knitted square though – it would have been a rhombus anyway!

Thought for the day: cuddling and Shrek is as important to our development as a loving family, as studydog or exeter maths!

Normal service resumed

Thank goodness, as you were all fed up of my ranting/whingeing!

Really didn’t want to get up, as went to bed too late, and BB fed 2ce in the night – unheard of! However, SB was bouncing off walls at only 7.30. Chris off to work.

Decided only option was to throw myself into the day, so we bounded down and had rice crispies, and started making a papier mache volcano. [craft / natural science] its looking v good, but very soggy at the moment, so may be sat/sun before paintable. We discussed volcanos, the dynamic earth centre and its displays, venus, pompeii etc all while doing it, and the benefits of floury water over glue or plain water. SO actually could prob tick lots of diff ed boxes – though most dealt with in one sentence! Following on from that, we looked up volcanos in the usbornes childrens encyclopedia.

In a reading roll, SB then chose the Usborne starting point science on the body [one of her favourites] so we romped through it [biology]. Find the fact that it gets coy after intestines, but can do bladder silly. SB knows that your poo collects in your rectum though.

BB was getting a bit bored of trying to grab the book and feeding at this point, so we all went upstairs for a nappy change and did some baby massage together. SB enjoyed finding bits of bone markings on BB’s body, and where major organs would be – this is difficult due to the scrummy chubbiness of BB [surface anatomy]

A good feed later, and we were all playing magic bus – its a bit like bedknobs and broomsticks, but unfortunately we don’t actually go anywhere, just imagine. So we went ot a volcano, the centre of the earth, the ocean deep and the moon. i’ve noticed the charges are going up though – LOL [maths, drama]. Of course, it does make eye spy a bit more challenging as well, as it could be anything, but at least the first letter is getting a bit more reliable, and we do give clues [ie f, well its probably a fish.....fish]

BB becoming a good sitter now – doesn’t roll over at all, but likes being on her front and makes bottom upping attempts. Her favourite toy is a toss up between a rainmaker and her pudding cube. She likes stuffing things in her mouth. if I wasn’t mean and WHO-ish about this, I would say she is exhibiting classic signs of wanting solids!

When BB fell asleep, we had lunch. SB fancied trying gnocchi, so I did this with olive paste, but not so keen – she did eat a few though. I finsihed them off, and she went for beans on toast. We watched some cbeebies on telly.

Taking advantage of the sun being out – another really variable weather day – we nipped out in the garden and picked a variety of flowers. We have made a flower collage with them. [art] very ephemeral, so I’ve taken piccies. Whilst shredding off petals etc, we looked at stamens, discussed different shapes, and found where the seeds were being made [all in v basic way obviously, but SB interested, so kept on until she stopped asking]. [biology]

We then did about 5 mins of the DK world explorer cdrom [geography] – ours crashes every time you go east, so a bit of a pain. She was still being volcano fixated, so we were looking for them. BB woke up and on getting her SB changed to studydog [literacy] and did one bit.

BB had a nice waggle in her playgym, then went in rocker chair, as on spur of moment, SB and I decided to make chocolate fudge. [domestic science, maths] never tried before, but found a recipe, and gave it a whirl. We have a proper sugar thermometer cos I make jellies and chutnies etc. Hoping its ok. the scrapings from the saucepan were lovely though. Its cooling at the mo.

We have now been doing spot the difference and matching as well as mazes – not sure what I would put them under! [science] prob, as learning to look for differences and similarities, and categorising things.

In dribs and drabs we have sung/danced, played with finger puppets, played hide and seek, played with dollies, so I am utterly exhausted. It has, however, improved my mood no end.

Hearing from the estate agent that our buyers reported we were quite happy with completion date – i had a rant at her! and from the solicitor to say that although our vendors are grumpy about late completion, they are not in a position to exchange, as some searches outstanding, only caused me to roll eyes! Mood still in the positive.

BTW, blogging this early as SB and Chris have walked to local co-op for milk and to post letter. Ah, I have to say, some peace and quiet needed, even if jigging BB and NAKing while blogging!

Not sure what for tea, as a delve into freezer mode – think will be home made beanburgers, sweetcorn and potatoes.

Being taken for a ride – rant!

self indulgent ranting
I prob should password this, but the likelihood of someone from ex-work reading this approaches 0. After all, if they can’t read my sodding emails, they’re not going to read a blog.

I have been trying to organise a large RCT comparing the use of a graft material with none. Its all rather complex, but basically, it needs a long timespan audit/pilot study ti show material doesn’t ‘fail’. I did a 2 year audit 2 years ago, and atarted the 4 yr audit last summer. It took approx 60 hours to fill out all the ethics forms, and at 38 weeks pg, with broken foot etc I had to go and present it to the local ethics committee – all with a nominal presence only of the cheif investigator. To be fair, I always knew I was going to do pretty much all the work. She is a fantastic surgeon, but not so keen on the nitty gritty of audit. However, all i’ve actually asked of ‘the team’ is to get the remaining 40 case notes for me [i data entried the other 120 after retrieving them from the void before leaving for new job], 2 signatures, writing permission for honorary contract [so i am allowed to see said case notes], the paper and envelopes. I’ve provided time, stamps, mileage etc gratis. Oh, and I did ask if one of the 2 secretaries could do some of the photocopying. well, i got 1 of the sigs and nothing else, repeated emails and visits. last straw is that i need to pay for the paper and envelopes myself to go ahead [3 reams and 320 envelopes, as well as the 160 stamps] The lack of the second sig – which i’ve only just found out, means I cant do bloody thing yet anyway.

I guess what annoys me is that i still feel the guilty party for non-completion. I will also kick myself for stopping, as it is actually interesting, and may lead to improvement for prolapse results. However, there is no way to get this out before i move, and bugger all hope of ever getting the questionnaires forwarded onand analysed. Also the lack of help when i asked for things, but meaningless gesture offers given now to see if i can be conned into continuing. AAAARRRGH!!!

I’m not sure if they’ve actually grasped i’ve bowed out. i’ve left what i’ve done clearly organised with what needs to come next, but at lunch i was asked about the main rct design! Also some impression i’ll run about getting their posters up to glasgow whatever it takes – i think not!


family life

This unfortunately has spilled over into the rest of the day. I picked up SB from nursery. She was finishing an easter card – very nicely done, with happy easter written in it. And had done a lot of painting and letter shapes. [art, writing]

We went to gingerbread cottage to meet up with the post natal group. it was manic there as all the boys were fighting, some of the mums shouting and most looking harrassed. SB was quite upset as Z and his cousin W wouldn’t play with her at all – they were inseperable on Sun. I explained they were obviously just wanting to play together, and it wasn’t that they didn’t like her, just were in that mood. She was disconsolate, and then wouldn’t play with anyone else until the last 15 mins. sigh – and how do you deal with it? I cuddled her, agreed it was sad and gave options. [socialisation/PE]

We came home and she did some bike riding, then we made chocolate and banana muffins – yummy. I was still in mummy mode when the mixture was strewn around and an egg dropped. [baking] Although i knew i felt headachey and grumpy.

We then did studydog [english] which SB enjoying v much. She tends to do a bit much though and start to mess about. [ I'm still holding together] so we moved to cbeebies website. [IT]

However when we had the usual messing about over eating dinner i could feel myself being so intensely irritated that i had to leave the room before harridan helen took over. It took approaching an hour to eat. I just can’t bear it!

breathe helen!

house update
still not progressing, don’t know outcome of the building regs for carport thing, and waiting for the final surveys on place moving to.

breathe!!!!

Great Ed Day + Birthday Boy

more snow, on ice, so daren’t actually go out and slide to bottom of hill! [ed note – these posts are getting too long, will precis tomorrow]

SB HE
Anyway, we did the vikings section of the time traveller book – looking at the pictures and spotting things, while I read some of the paragraphs according to her interest. Followed this with some of the pages in the DK Viking book – lovely pictures in there – and discussing how we could make her a Viking outfit, and which style she would like. Also where they lived, and the difference with us, and what they ate and the differences. [this was all in bed snuggled with BB, so very nice!]
When we got up we gave BB a ‘baby massage’ of unique technique. It is amazing just how big a bottom and thighs BB has got. SB was a bit unsure whether we had enough massage oil to cover them all!

A weetabix breakfast and the we got down to serious business of making Chris a birthday cake – so it was a carrot cake of course. SB getting v careful with the weighing and measuring. She shows good understanding of the bigger numbers, the tens, and which order to read the numbers in. She stands a much better chance of being a domestic goddess than me!

We then read together some letterland books, and although she can’t read, she understands what reading is, and makes a good stab at reading letters and blending them into words even if there is a lot of ‘scaffolding’ at the mo.
While I was getting card things out, she traced letters -totally her own idea. She definitely seems to be on a roll here. The maths type things I had put out stayed ignored.

I thought we were going to make Daddy’s card, but she said she had got one from nursery, and there it was, so we made cheer up cards for Little Nanny and one of her sisters. It was a planet theme- not sure why. Had Venus [well, the volcano one near the sun, so a good description], Saturn, Jupiter and Clanger planet. Then space dust from sand sprinkles. Our home page is the NASA astronomy picture of the day, and she always thinks the dust louds are beautiful. I’m not sure they are traditional condolence type cards, but I think they will be very appreciated. Beans on toast for luunch. SB confused as to why I was upset at her putting sand in mine – sigh. Had nearly finished though.

Then, a la trivium we had about 20 mins apart, she doing cbeebies, and I cleaned the dining room [ok, just a little after dinner party, but I am still only nearly semi domesticated!]

We read another 2 letterland books [her choice] and started on Viking casserole. unfortunately, as an unplanned activity, probably Barley and garlic the only reasonably Viking ingredients, as was more like a veggie cassoulet with dumplings in the end! She enjoyed thinking it was Viking though, pretending the veggie sausage was rabbit!

[addtition - I forgot that we made popcorn for the first time. I was a bit worried cos it took a while to pop, but v exciting!]

She then did some playing with a toy racing car, while I got to check mails etc. chris came home, collapsed into chair and watched clangers wth her. And then had birthday viking tea and carrot cake with candle on the top. [not the correct number though!] I must of thought I was in Melrose, as at least 6 more portions than required. On the card front, she told Chris that her friend Bridie had made it for him, so after all that card making, chris didn’t have one made by Elinor. i just give in sometimes.

Manic ballet dancing to classic FM, bathtime and bed, with Daddy being the storyteller. I did a collapse in heap from such an intensive day impression! Then rang Little Nanny, who is well, and no snow their today.

BB
Where was she during the day??? Well, in her playgym, in a rocker chair with different playgym, being cuddled and loved, feeding lots and starting to laugh rather than just open mouth. I think on balance she did lose out on attention, as she often does when SB at home and not Chris. Hopefully not detrimentally. Its just that she is a content and happy baby, and can gurgle in gym for an hour while I am doing things with SB, losing track of time.

How do you juggle 2 compteting attentions fairly, especialy when one is vocal, demanding and high maintenance, whereas the other is more laidback, and often just content sitting on your lap while you’re doing something.

ME
Thanks for kind messages. think lack of sleep coming with worrying and I just don’t think about big pictures, just the worries. Arranging visits to nurseries etc doesn’t help. We will prob use for 2 days a week so there is instant group of children to meet – especially as one nursery in the village. Chris will be able to do supply on those days and when I have days off too. That way Keeps in the picture. When SB and us settled in, and hopefully I have wangled a change in working patterns, we will relook at this.

Chris
HAPPY BIRTHDAY

2 days of good HE in a row!

Wonders will never cease.

i think after all the stresses of jobs, new babies, selling houses etc, it is nice to settle back into being us again. BB a fully paid up family member, so now part of the routine. In fact, she is totally gorgeous. She has a great interest in her hands, can hold on to rattles. Finds her playgym so exciting that she sounds like a steamtrain with all the huffung and puffing [she isn't the quietest of breathers - probably those 20 chins!] She smiles and coos, and loves being able to watch SB, though looks abit nervous if she gets too close – those python hugs.

SB is happier now she is getting a more normal amount of attention from us [a lot] and because of it, perversely, is happier to play on her own. We got the happy street out earlier in the week, and make up lots of stories for the people in it. She usually likes me to start, saying she can’t make them up, but is then quite happy to tell me I’m wrong and take over. I call this our drama sessions! to build on the shadows thing, we read together our DK book about seasons etc, and she seems happy with the spinning earth around the sun, and was concentrating on what was in the book. She does want me to make a circular inca calendar tomorrow though – a ‘gery’ big one please. We did some letter sounds – not any blending though, and a bit of writing. We also made houses with the lego, and decide to make one with lots of windows for the summer to let the breeze go through, and a bumpy roof like a castel [crenellations] [ I may have to buy more lego if she starts demanding turrets!] We excercised our inner domestic goddesses by making double choc and oat muffins – yummy. A bit of leappadding and cbeebies website, and our day was done. There was negligible fusses today either. I loved it.

However, thanks to Merry – who has opened a massive world of what if……. in my brain – I spent most of the day unsettled and miserable from a dream, so needed lots of cuddles, which luckilly I got.

Melrose prep

SB and Chris have made cupcakes, SB and I have made a vegan carrot cake and a normal one [still in oven]. Thats all we’ve done so far, no packing or shopping for foods.

Earlier Mum and Dad left. SB played lots of dolly games, went through the usbourne 1001 things to spot, did some great colouring of viking patterns watched sesame street in german and did some adding games as well as the baking – which she is getting v good at. Also a fair bit of whingeing, crying over nothing and sitting on the stair in a sulk. I think i am going wrong somewhere.

I have also looked at our bank accounts and done a budget [ a bad move to do just before holiday, so will endeavour to forget it until we get back]

We will pro arrive at Melrose only just in time for the jackets, as we excel at leaving the house later than planned!

PS vegan carrot cake now out, and doesn’t look to bad – this is a my made up recipe first time use, so may be only useful for puddings! Have also sorted SB and BB clothes for packing, so don’t need to disturb her in bedroom.

Boiled egg, pickled onions and ice cream Sundae….

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…)

eating our ice cream sundaes

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.

Stringbean making mince pies

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.

A yum-yum weekend.

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…

Stringbean licking the 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.

Stringbean playing with Happy Street

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….
Stringbean giving butterbean a  massage

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…..