Teaching his Grandmother to Suck Eggs...

My son (hi, son!) is teaching me stuff, and when I say "Oh, yeah, I remember doing that at school" he looks SO surprised!

It's nearly ten o'clock, and we should both be in bed. Me, because I need my sleep, and him, because I need my sleep. Luckily, Chas understands "You have to go to bed now, cause Mama is tired." He did not understand this when he was one, which was hard for us both. It's kinda nice just to be sitting here, the two of us, me yawning and him jiggling.

We are all going to London tomorrow, meeting friends and cousins, walking in parks, eating sandwiches! I am so looking forward to it!

Chas is singing 'I'm yours' by Jason Mras. He has such a beautiful voice.

We went into town today, to get some textbooks for Chas, and a pair of shoes. Sam bought 'Pokemon Heart Gold' for the DS, and I asked him to write me a review. He is thrilled at the prospect! So stay tuned.

It's been a long weekend everywhere, it seems! Memorial Day in the States, Indian Arrival Day in Trinidad and Tobago, and in the UK 'Bank Holiday Monday' which I believe used to be Whitsuntide or something. We have the whole week off school here! I hope that everyone's holidays were good and safe, and may the rest of your week be sunny!

It's FRIDAY!

'I love deadlines. I like the whooshing sound they make as they fly by' 


- Douglas Adams


I met the deadlines this time, pulling up alongside them in my Ferrari and passing over a memory stick before tearing away to Max's class presentation and having Chas' buddies over for pizza. Max has a friend over for the night as well. 


I am taking a well earned (WELL EARNED, you hear me?) rest this weekend. We all are. I'm pushing the virtual Ferrari into the sea. And walking back home on the beach. 

It's too early...

Today, Max's class is going to the beach and IT'S RAINING. Bleah! At least the plants will be happy. And the ducks. I'll be the mummy in the red raincoat.

Chas is way too happy in the mornings, he's sitting there humming loudly and CRUNCHING his toast and asking me complicated questions and I'm just not very morningish today. I'm TIRED. Must find a way to squash Chas' jubilant personality. Suggestions?

Sam and Max are still asleep in bed. Sensible children.

Last night we had an NCT meeting, and finalised our events and things for the next few months. Tonight, after my rainy beach experience, I will get it all into the Newsletter and then I will take it all to the printers on Friday with my fingers crossed.

On Friday night, I will sleep!

Next week the boys have a week off school, and I might not write anything at all!

Now Chas is singing 'Kodachrooooome! Gives us those niiiice, bright colours...!'

Max is muttering 'Shuddup' in a head-under-pillow voice.

Now he's singing 'If you want to destroooy my sweater...'

Boot Camp, I'm thinking.

Sharon is a Genius, and Where is my Tea-For-Twoesday?

The saddest thing about being a busy, busy international-travelling woman with busy, busy friends is when you are TOO BUSY to have a virtual cup of tea with your friend. Wail! But then your friend scribbles a political cartoon which leaves you in stitches, and you get over it. Temporarily.

I think I'll be her agent.

For other brilliance, head to GNM Parents where I am wondering where my little boy has gone.

Now, with all the technology of the world at our fingertips, what does it take to Skype a cup of tea around here?

First Woman Prime Minister In Trinidad and Tobago

YESSSS! Congratulations, Kamla Persad-Bissessar.

http://www.trinidadexpress.com/

http://www.france24.com/en/20100525-trinidad-tobago-general-elections-woman-pm-kamla-persad-bissessar

http://www.opendemocracy.net/robert-muggah-dorn-townsend/gangsters-paradise

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/latin_america/10147454.stm

There Was An Old Sailor My Grandfather Knew

There was once an old sailor my grandfather knew
Who had so many things which he wanted to do
That, whenever he thought it was time to begin,
He couldn't because of the state he was in.

He was shipwrecked, and lived on a island for weeks,
And he wanted a hat, and he wanted some breeks;
And he wanted some nets, or a line and some hooks
For the turtles and things which you read of in books.

And, thinking of this, he remembered a thing
Which he wanted (for water) and that was a spring;
And he thought that to talk to he'd look for, and keep
(If he found it) a goat, or some chickens and sheep.

Then, because of the weather, he wanted a hut
With a door (to come in by) which opened and shut
(With a jerk, which was useful if snakes were about),
And a very strong lock to keep savages out.

He began on the fish-hooks, and when he'd begun
He decided he couldn't because of the sun.
So he knew what he ought to begin with, and that
Was to find, or to make, a large sun-stopping hat.

He was making the hat with some leaves from a tree,
When he thought, "I'm as hot as a body can be,
And I've nothing to take for my terrible thirst;
So I'll look for a spring, and I'll look for it first."

Then he thought as he started, "Oh, dear and oh, dear!
I'll be lonely tomorrow with nobody here!"
So he made in his note-book a couple of notes:
"I must first find some chickens" and "No, I mean goats."

He had just seen a goat (which he knew by the shape)
When he thought, "But I must have boat for escape.
But a boat means a sail, which means needles and thread;
So I'd better sit down and make needles instead."

He began on a needle, but thought as he worked,
That, if this was an island where savages lurked,
Sitting safe in his hut he'd have nothing to fear,
Whereas now they might suddenly breathe in his ear!

So he thought of his hut ... and he thought of his boat,
And his hat and his breeks, and his chickens and goat,
And the hooks (for his food) and the spring (for his thirst) ...
But he never could think which he ought to do first.

And so in the end he did nothing at all,
But basked on the shingle wrapped up in a shawl.
And I think it was dreadful the way he behaved -
He did nothing but bask until he was saved!

-A. A.Milne 


I feel JUST like this old sailor! I'm writing this in a hurry: My gran is having friends to visit, and I must attend. My mum is here, YAY, and she is staying for a nice long six weeks! Sean is boarding a plane as I write, heading back to work. 


I am going to start my writing course next week. I will wrap up the NCT Newsletter this week, and my sister Ailis will come to stay for the weekend to help polish it up. Her husband, the amazing Uncle Dan, will entertain the kids and they will watch TV till their eyes go square. Uncle Dan is a major TV-encourager! They will watch formula one and rugby and football, and Dan will instruct them on which teams they are supposed to cheer on! 


By the way, the BBC Young Musicians competition finals blew us away. I wish I could find something on YouTube, but watching young Lara on Piano and Callum on Violin (on our new big-screen TV!), the boys sat as still as mice and no longer think they are the awesomest musicians ever. Did them good! 


WAIT! I FOUND IT! Here is the whole two-hour program! Plug your computer into your big TV, and get all your speakers connected properly before you start. Amazing. 


http://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/b00shlyb/BBC_Young_Musician_2010_Final/


Last week, we met with the Appeals Panel of the school Chas wanted to go to. Because he missed their test day the year before last, the class was full when we arrived in England, and he had to do a make-up test and hope for the best. He did very well in the test, and the school wanted him, but the appeals panel had to be convinced that squeezing him in would be best for everyone. Sean and I went with our knees knocking... we had heard terrible things about appeals panels! But it was fine. Chas will transfer to his new school THIS TERM, yikes! He has his work cut out for him now. It's a good thing Chas loves to read. We are all really relieved and happy! 


I am waiting for the school to call me now, with the list of things we need (New uniforms! Jackets and ties!) and subjects that Chas will need to catch up on (Latin! Eek!). The school is still pretty near to here, so Chas can still get there on his bike. (And Sam will start in September - he sat the test for his year on the proper day, so he got right in with no appealing.) 


We have had some lovely rides lately, and I've only fallen off my bike a few times, and never really badly. Falling off my bike in public is SO embarrassing! I've had a few flat tyres. How come I'm the only one who gets flat tyres? Sean spent yesterday afternoon servicing all the bikes and teaching me how to repair my own flat. I don't think I'll be riding too far without him though. 


Tomorrow we all go to the dentist. Sam also needs to see a doctor, because he often doesn't hear well due to tiny ear-tubes getting clogged up and should have grown out of this by now. (note to self: call doctor) I was hoping to go to the art supplies shop tomorrow (massive Hobbycraft!) but can't make it... I will give Mum some cash and a list though! Mum's being here is pushing my painting buttons (she's been painting in the park), and I need paper. (where will I find time to paint, though?)


Last night, when Sean left for London (he spent the night there so as to be nearer to the airport for his dawn check-in) the boys were sad and unsettled. This morning, they slept late and grumped at one another. I sang, "Here comes the sun, little darlin'" as I opened their curtains, and Sam put his head under the pillow. Good thing Ailis and Dad are coming for the weekend. And good thing Mum is here. We need some distraction tactics, till we slip back into the Dad-Not-Here routine. 


Okay, I have to go! But I'll be back! Mwah!

It's A Mad, Mad Week...

It's Sean's last week here, and then he goes back to work for TWO MONTHS... we're making the best of our last few days.

Sean's sister, 'Aunty Beans' is visiting. My Mum is visiting, staying with Margo.

My eldest, Chas, is getting SO grown up. He is thoughtful, amazing, brilliant, athletic, and talks too much in class.  I can't discuss him here, though, because he's online and has Facebook and all now. Hi Son! Mwah!

I'm starting a Writing Course next week! Squeeee! It's the Writer's Bureau one. Further details and a review when I know more. It's not cheap, nearly £300, but I've heard good things from people in the know. Anyway, it'll keep me warm at night while my husband is away.

It was really sunny this morning, so I did two loads of laundry and hung it outside. Now, it's going to rain. Drat, laundry draped all over the house.

And me, a soon-to-be-famous millionaire writer and all. Surely I should have staff for this??

Grownup Book Review

  'Half of a Yellow Sun' by Chimamanda Adichie. Remember Biafra? This novel is set during the civil war in Nigeria. Not for the squeamish: terrible things happened in the 60s in Nigeria and the short-lived Biafra, but the story is so beautiful and well written, the characters so excellently portrayed, that it is well worth it. I loved this book, and bought it recently to re-read.

'A Short History of Tractors in Ukranian', by Marina Lewycka. Nikolai, aged eighty-six, has fallen in lust with a very much younger woman and she and his two daughters scheme and counter-scheme. I loved this book from the first sentence! The story is sweet, the characters real, you will learn about the history of tractors, and there is some laugh-out-loud humour there too.

'Mother Tongue' is another wonderful book by Bill Bryson. Here, he follows the history of the English Language and explains why we have such idiosyncratic spelling. I learned some very useful and interesting things about the written word, and Bryson's way of looking at the world just cracks me up.

I read some chapters from 'Mother Tongue' aloud to the kids and they laughed out loud. Now they know why words like 'ought', 'bough' and 'though' are pronounced  differently but spelled the same!

What are you reading? Recommend something to us here! 

The Nostril Picture and Other Highlights

I'm sure there WERE other highlights... Oh yes! We got a huge-normorous TV. It is, like, the largest thing in the house.

I'm enjoying the peace and quiet, as the boys and Sean sit and gaze adoringly at Top Gear. How many days in a row do you think they will veg out on the sofa, before they get bored?

I Wish I Knew How This Worked, But My Kids Love Vegetables And Stuff

This week, the internet is full of Moms crying about getting their kids to eat healthily, hating cooking because no-one likes it anyway, and praying that, for Mother's Day, they can get a break from cooking. Tales of kids who only eat white bread and jam, or only mac a cheese, or nothing at all. Kids who say "Eeeew, this is groooosssss!" How soul-destroying is that??

I don't have these problems, and I have been trying to figure out why. I guess if I knew HOW COME my kids love to eat and eat anything that isn't able to escape, I could write a book and BE RICH!

An Example:

Last night, I put some pink salmon fillets into a baking dish with olive oil and seasoning, and put them in the oven. Then I put some veggies: carrots, sweet peppers and eggplant, chopped up, into another baking dish, with more olive oil. I put them in the oven and the French Tutor arrived, so I didn't turn on the oven. I left the boys and Celia the wonderful French tutor to their own devices around the kitchen table for a while.

Then, I remembered that I should boil the wild rice from early because it takes forever to cook, so I turned it on and forgot about it completely. Half an hour later, clouds of smoke erupted from the kitchen, so I ran cold water under the rice pan. Sean says we are buying a rice cooker THIS WEEK, because burned rice is, um, not unusual here.

I scraped the rice out of the pan and said "Hey, it's not too bad, kinda nutty!"

"You're kinda nutty"

"No, really! I can salvage this!"

Then I remembered that I should have switched on the oven twenty minutes ago. So I did. Then, I chopped up an onion, and sautéed it to add the rice to. I threw in a can of sweet corn, and said "Voila, mes enfants!"

Celia the French tutor left in stitches.

And, my children all ate everything on their plates (I did NOT give them the eggplant, that would have been asking too much) and they all asked for second helpings of everything, and Sam said "I just LOVE this!"

Then they had a clementine eating contest which Sean and Chas won because they have HUGE MOUTHS and can fit an entire clementine in. And chew. It's a bit messy though.

I know! It is weird. They eat veggies, beans of all varieties, brown rice, wild rice, salad, sushi, fish, meat, soup with bits, soup without bits, spicy curries, eggs, omelettes, toast, muesli, goat's milk, regular milk, powdered milk with a spoon, sweets, fruit, ANYHTING. They like to cook, too, and will help themselves to sandwiches and snacks.

Even if they run away from home, they will survive in the wild by catching and eating stuff.

Occasionally, they will say they aren't keen on something (eggplant for instance) and I shrug and say "Whadevver duuude" I cook with it anyway. Sometimes I blend it up in a sauce, or maybe leave it in pick-outable chunks. If it's blended, they never notice and they don't make a fuss about picking out. Neither do I! Sometimes they go through a phase when they don't seem to eat much. Max ate little for years, but his appetite seems to be catching up.

Sean and I both like to cook, and it's a pleasure to cook for kids who love our cooking. We are really lucky. When I figure it out, I'll write that book!

My Kids are Perfect... Naturally, Because I'm An Expert

We had a long train journey this weekend. We're good at long journeys! Us usually, we read, play, colour, chat about the scenery. And people say nice things about what NICE kids those are.

So we set off this weekend, picnic in hand. Sean and I had been out the night before and had a few glasses of wine with friends and stayed up too late, and the kids had convinced the babysitter to let them stay up too late, too. Max woke up on the wrong -WRONG - side of the bed. Nobody was in a nice mood. Max wanted to wear his impractical shoes and had to be convinced otherwise. We set off later than we expected, nearly missed our train and had to get all stressed out.

A nice family with nice-looking kids were near to us on the train, and usually we would have pooled resources with them and chatted, but as the journey continued they began to sort of huddle together, you know that way you do, as the kids snapped at one another and I muttered "Agh, cutitout" from behind my dark glasses. Max was teased for being grouchy, and kicked his dad in the shin.

"See Max? Aren't you glad you wore those practical boots? MUCH better for kicking Dad." Max actually burst out laughing and kicked Sean HARDER, so Sean held him down and took a picture of the inside of his nose.

"Congratulations!!! You are our cover model for this month's 'Nostrils Monthly'!!" and Max got cross again and sulked.

The nice looking family got off at the next stop, or maybe just changed coaches. I wouldn't blame them. They were sort of holding hands and really appreciating one another. You know the way you do!

More Brilliance from Penelope Leach!

This week at GNM Parents - have you subscribed yet?

When I first became a Mum, the book which most helped me was Penelope Leach’s “Your Baby And Child”. My mum had a battered copy in her bookshelf, which I read and read and lent to friends and read. Then, I bought the newer version, which was more modern but still wonderful. In fact, I think I had two copies, which have been lent out until I no longer know where they are.


This week in the London “Times”, Psychologist, Mother and Writer Penelope Leach is at it again. “I actually do know what it’s like to be woken up 14 times a night... And I have a very strong sense that the way to deal with that is not for the parent to impose adult desires on the baby, but to try and integrate baby and adult.” 

Click to Read more at GNM Parents