This morning I woke up earlier than usual to make sure that everything was in place for Halloween and that Jacob would have no problems at all dropping the girls to school in their costumes. I woke up at 5.30 and had absolutely everything ready for them, EVERYTHING. Before I left the house I even did the red glitter in their hair so that Jacob wouldn't have to deal with it. I trotted out the house at 7.10 with nary a glance over my shoulder cos I knew everything was done. I asked Jacob to send me a photo of the girls when they were dressed so that I could see them.
I hadn't been at work many minutes when I received this..... Do you notice anything a bit off with this picture?
How about the fact that Rosie's costume is on backwards? I couldn't believe it when I saw it. HOW, HOW? How could he have dressed her backwards? LOL That fact that Lily didn't notice baffles me. I actually think that might have been her first act as a devil! ( in all fairness to her she was rather self absorbed with her own costume and cuteness) Along with the photo came a text that read "Rosie said her costume hurt her throat and took it off once she got to school". In hindsight all I can say to this is, "well DUH"
Rosie's class had a character parade and the parents were invited. I missed this also because I was at work but thankfully these photos made me feel much better!
Hmm, no hat.
I love seeing all her smiles at school this year. It's time now for a costume change so that we can go trick or treating.
Another post later and hopefully everyone will have their clothes on correctly.
This is the third weekend in a row that we have had rain. Not just ordinary rain but "urban flood advisory" rain. It just doesn't stop. Both yesterday and today were forecast to be pretty awful. When I woke up it was black but not raining so I threw together breakfast for everyone and decided to get the girls outside for some fresh air before the rain started. Odly enough it is now hours later and we are still waiting.
First we headed out on bikes and scooters. I just noticed this sign, WTH?
Taking a break at the canal and looking for turtles.
Once the rain started we headed home but once it stopped we were off again with a different vehicle.
I love their faces here.
My favourite picture of the day. Lily was in a tight spot so I offered to help her out but she said, No No Mum I've got it. Not sure if you can tell from the photo or not but she apparently didn't have it and managed to wedge the jeep over a parking block. Always listen to Mummy, ~snort. We laughed so much.
Lily has been a member of the Flying Fish for exactly a month this week. At Wednesday's practice they announced that Friday's practice was cancelled and that there would be a "friendly meet" instead. Lily came running to me begging to attend. Silly goose of course you can attend.
It started at 6.30 but the weather closed the pool so things didn't get underway until 7 something. The head coach spoke first saying: this is a friendly meet, all kids will get ribbons, and candy and cupcakes and as a reward for their hard work he had made arrangements for them all to jump off of the high boards when they were done. Sounded fabulous. He explained that some kids we nervous and asked that we remained silent until the kids entered the water and then we could clap and cheer them on.
The tiny kiddies went first. How sweet they were. Just 25 metres for them which is still a long way. Some of the kids in all the classes are disabled and the cheers for them were fantastic. They often stopped and looked around and when they realised they were the only ones still swimming they looked so defeated so the coaches would yell, "come on parents help bring him/her home" and we would all clap and the kids would keep going. Really really neat to watch.
Finally Lily and her group were pool side and then were told to get into the water. Then "GO" and off she flew. She gave it her all. Lily is so competitive, so wretchedly competitive. A little girl from her class at school is on this team and has been so for 18 months. Lily was not going to let her win. She made up her mind and did it. She did really well in all 4 categories but didn't finish first in her group so she was sad. I talked to her and then the Coach came over and said, "Based on your performance this evening Lily, we are moving you into the advanced class, as of now".
The whole idea was to get them their times so that they had personal goals to beat from here on out. She did really well all things considered. She got 2nd she swam fast. In all fairness to her and this is my fault, she was tired. Richie Rich has been with us and our schedule got all out of whack, She has been going to bed late all week so she would start off strong but fade quickly. Endurance is something that she needs to build and as much as she is a high energy kid she certainly wasn't at her peak last night. But SHE ROCKED IT.
Backstroke. Lily is on the left.
She did really well in this as it was her first race.
We just got back from the airport, we had to take Richie-Rich so that he could fly off to his next destination on his round the world fishing tour. The girls were not happy A.T. A.L.L.
We had a really great time with him and wished his could have stayed longer but we have vowed to fly to New Zealand to see him. We foolishly made that statement in front of the girls so you know it is going to happen. They don't forget anything.
I tried to get some more photos of him but all I got was the back of his head or if by chance he noticed me when he was carrying his rod case I got that thrust into the lens :( I have no idea why he is so anti-cameras.
He is heading to New York and a blog I looked at bright and early this morning from New York had lots of lovely snow photos on it. Good thing we went shopping yesterday and bought the man some jeans and a long sleeved shirt. It's going to be bloody freezing fishing in the snow.
I'm not above begging and that's what I had to do for this photo. I love the sideways glance!
Back of person! Ditto And this was Rosie when she said good bye to him and the drama continued all the way to the car. No guilt Richard....you just go right ahead and rip my kidlets heart out and march right on a plane......I understand. The least you owe for this is a decent damn photo. LOL
We were at swimming last night and this is where Rosie sat for a long time. Oh she is going to be very sad tomorrow morning. Lily too. Me three. Jacob four.
I detest the smell and texture of pumpkin inners. Something about them really creeps me out. A few years ago I purchased a fake pumpkin from a craft shop and carved that and have been using it ever since.
The girls naturally love to have the real deal and love all the slimy grossness that are the pumpkins guts. Thankfully this year Rich-Rich was at the helm and I didn't have to touch even one snotty little seed. He found our pumpkin carving knife a tad wimpy and returned to the table with a knife that could behead a beast.....but all went well. He wasn't happy to see my little red camera make an appearance again so I chopped his head off in nearly all the pictures just to keep him chipper. Darn.
Such determination
egads a helping hand
Barf
love that face blech Master pumpkin carver with wimpy knife
Thank you Richie-Rich for the help. The girls are already sad that you are leaving soon.
Jacob and Richie-Rich have gone out for a while so I am frantically trying to get the blog up to date without being busted.
Last week Lily was chosen as "Student of the Month". This award has remained out of her grasp for many years. Nepotism comes to mind but that's a whole different story. Anyway, she was finally chosen for it and she was all proud of her little self. We were too. The award ceremony took place this morning and I asked Richard if he would be so kind as to come along. He obliged. It means so much to both of them to have family staying with us. It's grandparents week at school this week and they are seriously sad that they can't participate so having Richie-Rich come to school this morning meant the world to her.
Two kids are chosen from every class and the character value for this month was respect. Lily and her bestie Adam were both chosen. Adam deserves a post all to himself because all we ever hear in this house is, Adam this and Adam that. I told his mum this morning that it's a good thing I really like her son as all I ever hear is his name. She replied, "likewise" and we both rolled our eyes and laughed.
Egads they are back...... better dash and hit publish.
Richie Rich look mortified at the idea of having to pose for a photo. I had to really plead for this one. He's such a good sport.Lily, Adam both beaming. I'm not sure who the other boy is but he looks rather bored. Mrs Blanco the principal with the "little couple"
She looks really proud. Lilipop we are really proud of you too. You have the toughest 4th grade teachers out there and you were able to prove yourself. You earned it, relish in the limelight.
As we near Halloween I have decided it is all right for me to be a little tricky, verging on evil. I don't think my cousin knows that this blog even exists and he certainly has no idea his face is now plastered all over it. Of course he wouldn't know he is plastered all over it as all my photos have been taken from afar and the zoom pushed to it's limits. BWA ha ha ha ha
Last night we, no no no, make that I, decided we should force him to encounter the American tradition of the pumpkin patch. So we all innocently hopped into the car heading to a supply store for Lily to buy some more bits for school and once we were done I said, Oh I have a wonderful idea.
He wasn't impressed. He was fabulous at helping the girls choose their pumpkins and has offered to carve them with them today (photos to follow I am sure) and he even wandered around for a good 15 minutes until he noticed this little itty bitty baby, of 2 months old, dressed up as a witch, complete with huge witches hat, and he went off his rocker. I found him standing by my car shaking his head in utter disbelief. I told him he should be glad there weren't any dogs in costume. He just rolled his eyes.
I managed to sneak a few photos.
This photo was taken from a really long way away. It's my absolute favourite of Richie-Rich.
he's making sure it doesn't crush her. So sweet!
My little pumpkins
lets get this one (i only had my phone with me and it doesn't take the best photos, hence the headless scarecrows. sweet girl No that wasn't our wagon but they would have loved to buy that many.
Richard is not used to being around kidlets. I really wasn't sure how it was all going to unfold. I preached, begged and bartered with the girls to leave him alone, before he arrived. His sister, cousin Andie, prepared him for my new life, new since the last time we saw him.
Well, it was all a waste of time. He's fabulous with the girls but not with the camera.
This is Rosie's all time favourite game, Casher Casher. She has a little cash register that actually works, it scans items and makes up a price for them. It then adds everything up. It even has a credit card and a credit card machine. She always plays shop owner and you are at her mercy......for hours. The microphone on it works and you hear the words, Next in line please, all over the house.
This was Richie Rich's Mum and some more cousins being taught the rules of Casher Casher when we were in the UK this summer. EVERYONE is forced to play. She spent so many hours playing with the cash register this summer that we bought one back with us It was fun to pack that in a suitcase, with limited space. Playing Cootie. He never looks at the camera but I take the photos anyway. I have some lovely photos of the pumpkin patch to post next.
I am being a slacker at the moment but I am having to much fun to blog. My cousin Richard is here staying with us and I am not about to give up a minute with him. He's really good at dodging my camera but it appears I am even better than I thought with a moving target. I'll catch up in a couple of days.
You would think that this would leave me speechless but sadly there is a perfectly good explanation, in Rosie's mind. We had just come home from Lily's swim team practice and she asked me to please find her, her goggles, her slippers, those would be flippers to you and I, and Lily's old swim cap. I did, as I was about to cook dinner and she was playing. The next thing I knew she was at swim team practice also. Not sure why she never put on a bathing suit. She just marches to her own drum.
Do not, under any circumstances take a visit to your local DIY centre on a rainy Sunday morning. Jacob and I made a quick dash to H0me Dep0t on Sunday to pick up something or other to complete a project that we are doing in our master bath and I ended up meandering in to the paint department. Next thing I knew the blue tape was out and I was painting the kitchen.
I always disliked the yellow paint that we had on the walls.
We have company coming on Saturday. Not a great time to be down one bathroom and have the kitchen torn to shreds so I have been working like a maniac to get all these projects finished, hence no blog posts.
It's me doing this so of course that means all the stuff in the kitchen has to be changed out also.....NOW. If it was yellow it is about to be replaced. Running around to Tarjay and Bed B*th and Beyond, literally beyond cos I can't find the stuff I want/need. Be back soon with photos. Wedgew00d blue is the new colour.
Lily is growing up. Yes, I do know that that is a redundant statement and that all kids grow up. But she is starting to "grow up". I swear it was just five minutes ago that she lost her first baby tooth and she was a year behind in doing so. I listened with great delight to her pediatric dentist when she told me that typically kids who start losing their teeth late also start to develop later. Considering how young the kids are now when they start to develop I was over the moon. Lots of other people told me this too. I took these words to the bank. I should have known that any investment in these uncertain times are foolish. YOU grow up mentally not just physically...silly me.
Most of she friends have older siblings. She has always been ahead of herself, has had a reading age much higher than her chronological age, which makes things iffy when it comes to choosing books because most of the books in her reading age are alittle beyond what she should be learning, and she is so darned inquisitive that nothing slips by her.
A few weeks ago, in the span of a couple of days, two of my friends both, out of the blue, asked me if Lily had asked about sex. I told them, with great confidence, that Lily has no clue about it, she is too young, I said. They both said, in no uncertain terms, that I was fooling myself. I old them that Lily knows that she can ask me anything and does. That Lily comes to me with anything. One friend said, "she doesn't need to come to you, she knows what it is, they are talking about it in school. Why would she need to ask you if she already knows?" That statement made alot of sense. but at the same time Lily always comes to me when her friends start talking about new things, swear words, hot topics, etc. I pointed this out and Sandy said, "well if her friends have said, don't tell your parents, she isn't going to". Oh good grief could she really be starting to keep big dark secrets, heck no, not Lily.
I decided to find out for sure and I took her and her alone out in the car on an errand and asked her what the latest buzz at school was. Nothing. So I came right out and asked her if they, they being her school friends, were talking about sex. Yes, was the reply. So we came home and that night after I put Rosie to bed we had "the Talk". Let me just say that it was much easier talking to her about that than it was the first time I ever mentioned birthparents to her and she was only 2 then. We laughed and giggled and she asked questions, just two. We used a fantastic book and never went into great detail. We just answered the question of what it is and she was done. I have told her the book is hers, but she can only read it with me the first time and then she can read it and re-read it as much as she wants by herself. She is only 9 and she needs to get the facts straight not the crazy stuff the kids make up in school. Now that she knows she isn't interested in learning anymore....thank goodness.
I was surprised, no shocked, that she knew. At 9 I didn't have a clue but that was then. So if you are like me and think they aren't talking you might want to broach the subject. I honestly thought she didn't have a clue.
This is a really hilarious video that a friend sent me ages ago. It's really long but i guarantee you will laugh so hard you will cry.
I have never made any bones about the fact that I am not a chef. I cook because we have to eat. I do not enjoy cooking and I do not enjoy eating. I have always thought it rather odd when a person talks about food but that's because I don't get. If you don't eat you die so you must eat, end of story.
My Grandma was a great cook, I actually loved everything she made, nearly everything. I think I acquired my sweet tooth because of her and that is just fine. I should add, I do love to eat sweet things. Give me veggies and dessert and all is right in my world. Growing up I remember my Grandma having all these dishes with bunnies on them, I loved them and quite often I was served my food on them. Each plate, bowl, cup and saucer had a different scene on it. You couldn't see what it was until you had finished your food. Clever idea.
Grandma died when I was still young and the dishes went somewhere. It wasn't until a few years ago that I found out that my uncle had them. Each time I went home he would say to me, "here, take some of these home with you, no one else will want them and Lily (no Rosie then) might like them". I was thrilled and yet daunted at the same time. How does one take dishes home in a suitcase? I found the answer to that, you use disposable diapers and wrap every single one in it's own. He also told me not to say a word to ANYONE. I have no idea why he would say this but I kept my promise to him and snuck them through my fathers house and upstairs to my room. When Uncle John died the decision was made that i would have all of the remaining Bunnykins. Cousin Andie bought over a suitcase full and the subsequent trips to England bought back the rest.
I now have about 60 pieces sitting in a cabinet. They are gorgeous and very old. As far as I can tell the youngest pieces are well roughly 50 years old and I think some of them are the originals. It seems a shame to keep them on a shelf so I decided recently that perhaps even my cooking would be more palatable if the kiddies got to eat their way down to the bunnies. I think it is working. HAH! Lots of clean plates now and lots of shrieks of delight when the girls get to uncover a fabulous painting each time they eat.
These photos are really bad, I took them last night at about 11p.m and somehow failed to publish the blog until now. That little dude in the middle is Jiggy...he has a long story behind him.
I even think my cooking tastes better on these plates, it just might be the memories.
I love seeing all her smiles at school this year.
It's time now for a costume change so that we can go trick or treating.
