Sometimes

The best laid plans go asunder, and what is meant to be a pretty little crafting session turns into the creation of a 'terrible green creature'. 

Its days like this, when a migraine is raging, my back pops out, and everything between the table and the sink gets splattered with 'green stuff', that I wish I could hop on a train out of here.

But then, I would miss him, and he would miss me, and I will look back at these photo's and laugh at the fun he was having, whether I was along for the ride or not.

Feline Friends

Today I want to dedicate a little post to my cat Gomez who left us for a better place on 5th November 2007. I think about him every year at this time and I still miss him. He was one of those amazing animals who don't seem to realise they aren't human.

So Gomez, 'Thank you for being our cat. I forgive you for learning to open the fridge with your head and eating our Christmas turkey, and for following Duncan and the children to the corner shop and back (like a dog), and giving me heart attacks, and also for running up and down the velvet curtains 100 times a day until they were shreds. But mostly I wanted to say we miss you even though you do live on in the dopey little kitten you left behind.

The Weekend Round-up

We have been having internet connection problems this weekend, in fact we still are, so I am not 100% convinced this post will go up, but I will try anyway. Apparently an engineer is 'dealing' with the problem (is that media engineer speak for sitting on their bot eating bacon sandwiches while reading the newspaper?).

On Saturday we decided to take Oscar to the organised (city council), firework display.  It was a miracle of miracles because when the sun set, the evening was clear, I cant tell you how many displays we have went to over the years in the pouring rain, or even sleet and snow

Oscar was really excited all the way there, and we kept telling him it was going to be very noisy, but pretty

Unfortunately, Oscar lasted a whole 5 minutes before he was crying in Duncan's arms begging to go home. So home we went. I had 2 sky lanterns tucked away in a cupboard so we made some hot chocolate and went into the garden and lit the lanterns.  This was much more to Oscar's liking, although I suspect he enjoyed running around the garden in the dark the best.

In other news, Oscar and Daddy finally got the time (and the weather), to build our shed. The debate about painting it is still on. Oscar says red, blue and green, Mama says green with a red love heart on the door, and Daddy thinks we (and by we he means me), should paint it like the Mystery Machine, which coincidentally is 'red, blue and green'.

Yesterday we had a complete change in the weather and I loved it. No wonder Oscar is a Goth baby.

Of course the boys had to go down to the shed with torches to investigate.

And finally, I have been back to life drawing and really enjoyed it again, and in fact, after feeling guilty about slipping out one night a week.

Crafting Hands On

For now, I wanted to mention a website I stumbled across (via a Twitter link I think). Its called Hands On As They Grow and it is excellent for crafting and activity ideas.  What I like about it, is that the ideas are so simple. Sometimes the craft ideas on other sites, supposedly suitable for under 5's are far too complicated, and mama ends up doing most of it and the children wander away bored (or in Oscar's case, flinging paint/glue/glitter etc all over the place).

We have tried a few of the ideas including yarn monsters, potato printing and string painting -

Even Daddy got in on the action and Oscar and Daddy made some tin can and balloon drums.

I am still a fan of Filth Wizardry and now Oscar is a bit older I may start going back to her earlier posts (when her children were smaller), and look for age appropriate crafts.

If you enjoy/do crafting with your littlies I really would recommend both.

Valerie

xxx

Is It Just Me?

I had hoped to tell you a tale of how well Oscar did alone at nursery today, but I cant, because I didn't leave him.  There is nothing 'wrong' with the nursery, but there are a few little niggles and they are enough to make me question all over again, does he really 'need' to be at nursery (he is 2yrs 10 months). 

I have been convincing myself for the last two weeks that it will be good for both of us to spend some time apart, and that is still true. Paying £50 a week for 2 mornings when I am not 100% happy seems silly though. 

I am willing to accept its just me, because we tried 4 mother and baby groups before I settled on the one we are at, and I have only 'left' Oscar 4 times (once for an evening wedding, once for a funeral and twice with my sister, to the park).  I don't really want anyone to 'take' him for me, I just wish being at home alone every day was a bit easier. I guess that's down to personality though.

I was not nearly so picky with my elder 2 children (sorry Christopher and Aimee), but I wasnt. They went to nursery so I could work and go to University, its different from coming home to load the washing machine and do a bit of knitting/sketching/cooking.

So the nursery. Well, they start to tidy up for lunch at 10.30am and the first sitting are in their chairs before 11am. Is it just me or is that odd? Oscar wont be arriving until about 9am and he will no sooner settle in then its tidy up time (he will leave at 1pm). The 2nd sitting have to sit in the corner for a story while the first sitting eat. Oscar flat out refused, he was very clear on it,

"Oscar would you like to come and sit for a story?"

"No fank you very much"

I was observing from the back and they left him to play for the half hour on his own, but told me they would train him to sit with the others eventually, none of them want to sit when first start.  I am not sure what to think about that.

Its not a bad nursery I can see that, but there are less toys than we have at home (hands up to having far too many though), and the room isn't much larger than my lounge (again, I admit its a large house). I can see Oscar getting bored pretty quickly and there were quite a lot of crying little ones who don't seem to match his development, although I have been told he is quite advanced.

So, should I wait until April until he starts nursery school at age 3, or do I give it a try. Daddy and Mummy have some talking to do.

Valerie

xxx

Tickled Pink

Things have been pretty slow around here knitting wise. It tends to be my way of working though. I knit like a crazy woman for a few weeks, then I drop it for a few weeks. I am still determined to knit a hat for everyone (one each not one hat, you know what I mean lol), for Christmas. I have managed 2 so far, not exactly ploughing through then, but at least I have made a start.

On Monday I was trying to get myself motivated to get on with it when Oscar lost another hat, the 3rd one this Autumn. I decided that knitting him a new one would get me back into the mood of knitting. I normally just choose a simple pattern and knit it up in a wool of my choosing. This time I asked him to choose his own wool. Anyone who has read my posts about my little Goth Baby wont be surprised in slightest by his choice.

Valerie

xxx

Happy 1st November

Well, I guess its time to move elegantly into winter, although I don't know about elsewhere, but we had a very mild Halloween weather wise. I suspect though that Scotland will be consistent and on Guy Fawkes it will be pouring with rain (like every other year lol).

Oscar had a lovely time yesterday, despite be very tired, due to his first proper nightmare the night before (vivid dreaming runs in the family, ho-hum, wonder who he takes that from), and also with the clocks changing his wee body is running an hour ahead of the time.

Sorry about the volume of photo's but they are all so cute I didn't want to leave any out. We had friends visit in the day and family in the evening, then a reluctant ghost flopped into bed and slept through (no bad dreams).