Culture

Yesterday we went to London for the day, sans enfants. We spent the morning in the Cabinet War Rooms, which were absolutely fascinating. Then we bought fabulous focaccia sandwiches in a tiny deli opposite Downing Street and ate them overlooking the Thames. The highlight of the day was the matinee performance of Joseph - we have had the tickets booked for almost 9 months, and it was brilliant.
Tim wasn't with us, but he is fascinated by the story of Joseph, and he has listened very seriously to every single song from the musical on CD, and had to have it explained to him a million times. If you played him any song from it at random, he would be able to tell you what is happening and what is going on. So I think we are going to have to take him to see it too - though we may go for the version which is touring regionally to avoid bankruptcy!.
Tim is also into 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory', and is very concerned by Violet being turned into a giant bluberry and having to be juiced. He had a nightmare about Umpa Lumpa's the night before last. so we're not sure that letting him watch the film was a good plan.

Meanwhile KP has taken four steps unaided, and she grimaces every time a song from Joseph comes on, so I don't think she shares our enthusiasm, although maybe the volume is just too loud.

Homo Erectus- without holding on!

Blogs are like buses- you wait over a month for one, and then two come along in quick succession.

The main news here is that Katie has joined the ranks of the unaided Homo Erectus- she is of course a lot cuter than this hairy guy in the picture.

She is also saying lots of words, for example:

• Stairs
• Chair
• Tim
• Mummy
• Daddy
• Baby
• La La (from the Teletubbies)
• Pooh bear
• Banana
• More
• Brabas (meaning breakfast)
• Degaw (meaning drink)
• Bum
• Wee wee
• No
  

Time for an update?

So I have managed to post nothing at all for more than a month.

News that may be of interest is as follows:

Tim's slightly odd leg motion when climbing the stairs (amongst other activities) is due to extreme double jointedness of the ankles, knees and hips. The same is true of his fingers and wrists. There is no real problem with this but he has to learn to control his joints in more directions than the rest of us- which takes time.

I had a golf lesson- which Elaine got for me for my birthday. Stan had one at the same time for the same reason. I am pleased to report that I enjoyed it- and I was not too embarrassingly poor at it for a first attempt.

We bought a new iron- a steam generator no less. The old iron kept on tripping the electrics in the house. The new one is very powerful and ironing is now my favorite hobby.

I have found a place that roasts coffee to order- and am in the process of trying out all of the different coffees to find my favorite.
Elaine is going to a Spa tomorrow with her friends- meaning that I have a day alone with the children. We have planned all sorts of exciting things to do- whatever the weather.

Elaine has met this guy- Khaled Hosseini, the author of 'The Kite Runner' and 'A Thousand Splendid Suns.' She recommends them both highly. The first one is about a child who smuggles kites across international boundaries I think- the second is about a planet with lots of Suns- even more than Tatooine. She regards him as the best author in the world ever.


The other reason for not blogging is that I was given season 2 of Prison Break for my birthday by Roy and Sian- this is taking up lots of our time.

Cleveland Ohio

So I went to Ohio on Sunday- which involved a flight to Chicago, and then a connection to Cleveland airport.

The first leg of the flight was uneventful.......... when I was waiting for boarding for the second leg I was called to the desk. I thought that I was going to be offered an upgrade or something, but instead they took my boarding pass off me- apparently they had a problem with weight on the plane- I am clearly carrying a few pounds!

I was allowed back on when some other calculations had been done that proved that it would still fly.

There was 2' of snow in Cleveland and the hotel pool- shown above, was not particularly inviting!
The work that I was there to do was fine- I looked at the things that I needed to and got the information that I was after.

I hired a 3.6 litre Pontiac Grand-Prix automatic. Powerful, but slow to respond and huge.

There was noting of particular note to report until my last night- when I was left to my own devices. I went out to find a bit of dinner, and ended up very lost. I was not worried about it since I had a map (or so I thought- it turned out to be useless) and I was just having a look about the area anyway.

My hotel was in a leafy and rural area, but as it got dark, I found myself lost in a much more urban and rough looking area. Even that was not too much of a problem, until some guy roared past me as I was deciding where to go- but he didn't leave enough space and so scraped my wing-mirror down his door. He then stopped and got out of the car- as I did. The Pontiac was unscathed, but the other guys car was slightly damaged. He told me that he could not believe that I had hit his car- and so I agreed with him- he had been too close to me! Anyway, when I told him that my car rental details told me that I must call the police and the rental car rescue crew out in order to make a claim possible, he became a bit more irritable (he was not keen on the police coming out.) There were all sorts of people who knew him stopping to ask him if things were OK and the situation was getting less comfortable by the second.

Anyway, to cut the story a bit shorter, he decided that if I gave him all of my money, then I could leave! I gave him my $65 and he advised me to head in the other direction as I was 'I da hood' where I was (He was disappointed that I had not got much on me.) I did this and got back to the hotel safely! What a great alternative to having a nice meal.

The flight home was fine and my only regret is that I did not get a receipt off the guy that I met in 'da hood' so that I could claim it on expenses.

So that's the highlights of the trip!

Gluttony

We are sitting here making ourselves feel sick eating too many Elizabeth Shaw mint crisp chocolates and drinking far too much wine. Disgraceful really, especially as we went out for a meal last night and ate and drank far too much. We have discovered the most amazingly good restaurant in a village about 20 mins from here. You have to be prepared to remortgage your house to eat there, but it is fandango-tastic. Ben said (in all seriousness) "This is the place we have been searching for all these years". You had to be there I guess, but it was very very funny. Meanwhile, the poor children are eating very badly, poor KP has refused all food except a bowl of peas today, and T has been chain-eating Percy Pigs all day.
Over to Ben
Elaine has eaten far more of the chocolates than me, and has made up a new word- a mix of a word from Bohemian Rhapsody and a real word!!
The meal was actually my treat- everyone should have a husband like me!!

A whole year has passed

Thanks to all who sent kind wishes/gifts for KP's birthday. As is usual when you host parties, we realised we didn't really take many pictures. We all had a lovely time on Saturday, it was great to get everyone together.


KP is delighted with her new doll, and all other dolls are thrown angrily to the floor if they dare to attempt to get a cuddle. T has spent the weekend taking care of Jessie's doll, which was left behind here, and Jessie left very careful instructions over the telephone that T had to take care of it.

We picked up a mega bargain at the market yesterday - I'm sure Ben will dine off the tale for while yet. He did try to tell me that mega bargains in large boxes from markets often have missing bits. Anyway, we haggled hard, bought it, got it out of the car at home, and a large yellow sticker fell off which said 'Argos returns, missing parts'. It is a 'Mamas and Papas childs pram set and luckily there were four wheels and indeed all the parts, the only thing missing was the dreadful changing station which we are actually relieved about. So it was actually a mega bargain in the end. Apparently if I say that one more time I will be in big trouble. The whole episode brought back memories of kites from China...

Today we spent KP's birthday with grandma and grandad at the gym, then the restaurant at the Garden Centre, and then riding bikes to the park. Oh yes, and still eating huge amounts of left-over cake...

Poo

Home Alone

I have clearly got something wrong here.... Elaine is out with some friends, enjoying Pizza- I am at home- no beer, no wine and no snacks, and unable to get out to the shop as I am babysitting.

On the bright side, I have been off work all week and have been to the following things which I often heard about, but could never go to:

• Toddler gym


• Pre- school (I was a daddy helper)


• Primate music class

During the week we have also played football, been to a museum (not to be repeated for a few years as Tim was not particularly interested,) been to the 'Living Rainforest,' been to the garden centre and spent a long time playing with CD's- a current favourite pastime of Tim's. We have also made a replica coffee maker from the Brabantia bin box, and a sword (Tim had to go dressed as a Prince to his music class)

At the rainforest, we saw some interesting plants- this is an Arabica coffee plant- useful in the production of espresso!

This is an Avocado plant- the fruit of which are eaten in large quantities by recent retirees

We also saw a bird eating spider.

And an imperial scorpion.

These are actually edible- as are all scorpions, you just need to cut off the sting- and the venom sack (that ball at the end of the tail) and then munch away- a good source of protein. I would rather have a steak I think.

Le weekend

We have had a much slower pace of weekend this week thank goodness, which has allowed us some time to get into series 1 of 'Prison Break'. Roy and Sian have lent it to us, and said it was equally as good as '24' which we all absolutely loved. They are right, and we spent 3 hours watching on Friday, 3 hours on Sat and are just about to get started on Sunday's marathon viewing session. Ben is supposed to be going to buy chocolate for the occasion, but he is still here as I write this...

We visited P, A, J and T for tea yesterday. It was lovely to catch up and we loved their new pad!. T and J get on like a house on fire and they had a great time together. T of course was thrilled with J's music player and cd collection.

Today we all went to church, and then out to play football. We took a giant chocolate chip cookie, and whoever scored a goal got to have a bite of it. It's the only way we can get T to be remotely interested, but he did score a lot of goals today.

Oh dear, I've turned the italics on. Not sure how to get them off, so its probably time to go and watch Prison Break. Where's the chocolate Ben?

Dentist

Today I went to see the hygienist for the first time in about 5 years. I had not been avoiding it- I was told by the dentist that there was no need to go. On my last visit, he said that it may be worth going to see the hygienist- and so I did.

I assumed that there would be a bit of scraping around with the mega metal toothpick thing, and then a lecture on flossing and a massive bill....... I was unpleasantly surprised!

This is an ultrasonic descaler- a device intended to really hurt your upper and lower lateral and central incisors (see picture 1) and to make your whole mouth bleed like mad.
Once I had stemmed the bleeding, the hygienist set to with a polish derived from the above- which was also pretty painful on the incisors.

There was then a lecture about gum disease- I have prepared the above slide as an memory jogger for all of my readers- basically, clean them or they bleed loads, hurt a lot, your teeth fall out and then it costs you a bomb to get some new ones made.
As luck would have it, I have an alternative to the troublesome and outdated enamel items that we are fitted with as standard. The above 'tooth grills' not only look stylish, but also enable you to set off metal detectors at airports, and to look like a bond villain.

In other news, Tim has started swimming lessons in a pool where he cannot reach the bottom- he loved the first lesson and hardly seemed to notice that he was floating for the whole time rather than his more usual wading technique.

Katie has started to re-settle herself when she wakes during the night- meaning a lot more sleep for the rest of us.

Elaine has baked blueberry muffins- which are very nice, (despite her forgetting to put the milk in them.) She and Katie went to feed the ducks today but were chased away by a swan (Elaine was bitten by a swan as a child and now does not trust them.)

I just managed to run 6 miles in a respectable time for the first time in about 2 months.

It's The End Of The World As We Know It.

An REM song, written I believe about Tilbury.

Today I went to Tilbury Power station for a couple of meetings

The power station is the highlight of the town in my opinion, although it is going to close by 2015, and is likely to be replaced with a more modern plant in the next few years.

Since I got back reasonably early, we decided to go out for tea.

The only choice for people with children in Bicester is Pizza Express- so we went there.

I had an Etna pizza, Elaine had a Salcicca pizza and Tim had a La Reine- and took off the olives- all very good. We took Katie's tea with us. (she doesn't like Pizza- Curry is her thing.)

We also went into the library whilst we were in town and Tim has got another Winnie the Witch story- he rejected "Winnie and the dragon" as he does not like dragons. The Paddington Bear book that he chose has been lost between the library and home- not deliberately, so we will have to go and confess about that tomorrow.

Another Post

It's only a couple of days since my last post and here I am again! Amazing.

This is Tim- on the night that we hosted the church's nativity figures (on the trunk.) I don't remember any of the wise men wearing orange hi-viz, but clearly that one does some work on the railways. Could our tree be any more festive?

This one is Katie in her high chair- showing the world her new teeth.

A little bee in our lounge.

KP playing with one of Tim's favourite toys of the moment- she is keeping a look out for when he will come and take it off her- which he always does sooner or later.

Congratulations to William and Kathrine!

Sunday Relaxation

We have just had soup and homemade bread for lunch and are now relaxing with the Wiggles. They are a childrens entertainment group who are amusing to watch for adults- Tim loves them.

KP is having a bit of a sleep- something which never lasts very long.

Last week was the last part of my project management course- I am now fully convinced that I never- ever want to be a project manager. There is apparently far more to it than learning to use Microsoft Project!

This evening we have one of Tim's friends- and her family coming to tea. We are planning to have roast chicken, followed by dessert pizza- prepared by the children, so probably containing things that you don't really want to think about eating.

Yesterday we went to Reading to look at a new rug in John Lewis. I had not been to Reading before, and will never- ever go again. it is a place which is a long way away, has a large one- way system, no signs, lots of stairs and far too many horrible louts loitering about. Oh, and we decided that we did not like the rug. There was a rug that we did want to buy, but it turned out to be for display purposes only! We had to use 3 different lifts to get to the rug department- one of which went the height of about 5 steps!The only interesting thing to happen on the whole trip was a discovery that I made about Elaine. She had a blocked up nose and despite some one to one intensive training from an expert (as those of you who know me will agree,) was unable to blow her nose. Apparently she cannot do it! I am considering fitting her with some pipework and a connection to carry out a periodic blow with compressed air.

Oh, the KP sleep is already over!

No self control

I was the model of self-restraint with the Green and Blacks butterscotch last night when Gill was here. Sadly she has now gone home and I am alone with no will power. There is also half a bottle of Zinfandel calling me from the kitchen, it really smells as if it is going off and needs drinking quickly.



Thanks to all for the words of encouragement on the sleeping front. I really do need it, as KP was awake from midnight to 3.30 am on and off last night. Even Gill was kept awake. Quite what I am going to do when I need to get up at 6am to go to work I don't know. I was interested in P's advice about the cold, and will try some of her suggestions, so thanks for that.



As KP is a lot better, Gill and I ventured to Banbury today. We decided to start our diets by having coffee cake and full fat cappuccinos for lunch. I'm not sure I was supposed to mention that. There was much indecision from me (as usual) about whether or not to buy a half price Brabantia bin for the kitchen - Ben and I have wanted one for ages. I finally decided to take the plunge, and when we unpacked it at home, it wasn't quite the colour we had expected it to be. Only Gill and I could actually take the thing out of its box in the shop and still not see that it is black and not chrome. Anyway, it is staying put, and Tim was so pleased with it he had to throw everything in sight into the bin. I am about to throw the Green and Blacks empty wrapper into it.....

Home alone

Gill has come to Bicester to help me out with the children as Ben is away (yet again). We are sitting here drinking a rather nice glass of Zinfandel each, after a hectic bathtime/ bedtime routine.

Tim spoke to his dad just before bed and said "Daddy come home. I'm tired of you being on a course. What does your course look like? Have I seen it before?"

Katie has been back to the doctors today and is on the mend. She has finally eaten something tonight so I am happy (although I didn't appreciate cleaning up the mess!). Granny looked after Katie whilst I went to the Health Visitor to discuss Katie's night-time waking. Health Visitor once again suggested I sit in the room with my back to Katie for as long as it takes til she falls asleep again. Useless advice, I tried that before and got hyperthermia and almost went deaf.

Granny brought many bargains from the sales with her (and an empty box for Tim which he was very pleased with and now holds all his CD's)

Never Ending Illnesses

You are all already aware of my Christmas bout of man-flu. Well since then, Elaine has had a similar illness, as have her mother, brother and sister-in-law.

Katie is poorly with Pneumonia and possible glandular fever, and Tim has a nasty cough. KP has antibiotics to last for 2 weeks or so and we have borrowed a breathing monitor/ alarm for nightime peace of mind.

We are- needless to say, fed up with being ill.

On the bright side, Tim has a new bookcase which he is very pleased with. He has sorted his books into small, medium and large, and each size has a specific shelf to live on.

Tim now has two imaginary friends- Stind and Slammas. (Stind sometimes has a friend- Stindo with him.) Stind is a boy and Slammas is a girl. They both have blonde hair and drive cars. Stindo is sometimes blind and sometimes deaf. They are all about the same size as Tim's index finger.

We are now back on line with a new email address that we will send on to friends and family shortly. We are also wireless and writing on a laptop! Very 21st Century.

Sadly our Christmas chocolate supply is nearly exhausted and we are sitting here wondering what to 'borrow' from Tim's collection.