The past few weeks
Embarrassingly, I've had to trawl back through my diary and photos to see what we've actually got up to in the last 3 or 4 weeks. It's been quite a lot, which may also explain the memory loss. Moving house,halloween, 60th and 2nd birthdays. Enough to wear poor Mama and Dada and two little boys out. But we've had fun and eaten a lot of cake.
Moving house. What can you say apart from the fact it was really hard work but we did it?! All our boxes went over two days and then the big furniture on the weekend. We couldn't have done it without the grocery cart and sack barrows we got fromKougar Tool Hire, Mum's babysitting services, Dad and Toby's brawn and a lot of planning. The house is just great - we've settled in so well and it feels like we've been here forever already. The kids haven't been too freaked out by living in 'Ben and Susi's' house and have only asked to 'go back home' a few times. I would be a little disappointed if they weren't happier here, considering the amazing playroom they now have with the crowning glory of the train table that only took 4 hours to assemble. Mama now considers it official childcare and the kids seems happy to spend hours choo-chooing around the track... There is the obligatory room full of boxes which needs to be tackled at some point and Jeff's stereo has yet to see the light of day but we're getting there. We've unsurprisingly spread into the extra space very easily and have been getting exciting in the local op-shops for furniture finds.
Halloween was of course marked with our annual festive make and do party that was made so much easier with an enormous kitchen/diner to cause chaos in. Glitter fun ensued and we madehandprint spiders, glitter bats and pumpkin plates. Fancy dress prizes go to Fie's boys Jules and Lucas for turning up in woolly hats with cats sew into the top of them. Brilliant.... Pip spent most of the time refusing to do any craft and dressing up in either a witches hat or this fabulous wizards cloak (courtesy of Hal):
(Pumpkin credit: Suzanne Carver)
November is an expensive month filled with a number of family birthdays and anniversarys. Ma, Pip, Auntie Nic, first wedding anniversary of Nic and Tim, and Unky Toby all celebrate something this month and it so far Ma turned 60 and Pip hit 2. Ma had a lovely party at the Avitator Hotel which is a fabulous new hotel in Farnborough that resembles the Guggenhiem Museum in its interior and does very nice food to boot. A small gathering of closest friends and family allowed Mama and Dada a night off without the kids (we didn't tell Pip we were going to see Nonna without him, fearing the enormous tantrums that would follow). It was a great night with lots of lovely words said about Ma once the wine had started to flow. Followed by an appointment with a personal shopper and dinner at the 5th Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nics I think she felt thoroughly spolit and stretched the birthday over a few days!
Although she did take a couple of hours off her own birthday celebrations to make an appearance at Pip's 'Igglepiggle' party on the Sunday. With all his mates around, we had a blast playing pin the blanket on Igglepiggle and pass the parcel. He was spolit rotten with loads of gorgeous presents and is still saying its his birthday many days later!
Saturday two weeks ago, marked the much anticipated arrival of the kittens. Provisionally name Aiko and Hoocus, Mama finally put her foot down on the naming rights to pets in the Sweetwater household and we compromised. Oliver was very generous in giving up Aiko although when prompted about their names today he called them Aiko and Hoocus, so I'm not sure he's entirely sold on the idea!
We got kitties from the local Cat Protection League who after our home inspection deemed us worthy parents. The litter of 4 boys and 1 girl came from theEaling branch so we know absolutely nothing about the boys except that they are moggies. Hoocus is a grey tabby and Milo reminds both Jeff and I of Alex the lion in Madagascar with his grey tipped fur and brown tabby face. They will fit in the palm of your hand although will no stay there for more than a nanosecond. Milo isdefinately the sookey one and takes any opportunity to climb on board for cuddles whereas Hoocus is more aloof but still happy to cuddle on his own terms - typical cat. Right now, I'm sitting on the sofa now feeling toasty from the roasting mac on my lap and twofur balls right next door to me. I can hear the purring above the tumble dryer.
Our little bundles of joy have been a so very cute, if a teensy bit destructive. They are often found climbing up the furniture hanging on for dear life with their tiny kitten claws. Which, if you're asking, are like small knives if climbing up your leg - another favourite pastime of theirs. They spend most of their time trying to cause 'death from above' by jumping on one another from a great height and Oliver and Pip are stillthoroughly confused about why the kittens are allowed to bite and swipe and generally maime each other, when they aren't. Life's hard to figure out isn't it boys?
But enought of the little boys in the Sweetwater household, I've been thinking lately about what to do when the boys go to school and with the independent bookscene being non-existent in anywhere but central London, a job in a book shop is seriously unlikely. So what to do? I've been interested in the Montessori way of teaching for a while now, and I found a course that runs from September next year in nearbyWoking to qualify as a Montessori nursery teacher. In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can work out childcare in order to volunteer at Oliver's nursery for one day a week to get a feel for how it all works. The headmistress seems really positive about me helping out and is being very supportive in terms of work placement for the course too... It'll be a good thing to focus on although I have NO idea how my rusty old brain will cope with essay writing and exams since it's been turned to mush with over 3 years of poop, dribble and toddler conversations to blame.
I think that's about it, life carries on as usual, but this is a little disjointed so apologies. But you get the general jist. All's good.
Moving house. What can you say apart from the fact it was really hard work but we did it?! All our boxes went over two days and then the big furniture on the weekend. We couldn't have done it without the grocery cart and sack barrows we got fromKougar Tool Hire, Mum's babysitting services, Dad and Toby's brawn and a lot of planning. The house is just great - we've settled in so well and it feels like we've been here forever already. The kids haven't been too freaked out by living in 'Ben and Susi's' house and have only asked to 'go back home' a few times. I would be a little disappointed if they weren't happier here, considering the amazing playroom they now have with the crowning glory of the train table that only took 4 hours to assemble. Mama now considers it official childcare and the kids seems happy to spend hours choo-chooing around the track... There is the obligatory room full of boxes which needs to be tackled at some point and Jeff's stereo has yet to see the light of day but we're getting there. We've unsurprisingly spread into the extra space very easily and have been getting exciting in the local op-shops for furniture finds.
Halloween was of course marked with our annual festive make and do party that was made so much easier with an enormous kitchen/diner to cause chaos in. Glitter fun ensued and we madehandprint spiders, glitter bats and pumpkin plates. Fancy dress prizes go to Fie's boys Jules and Lucas for turning up in woolly hats with cats sew into the top of them. Brilliant.... Pip spent most of the time refusing to do any craft and dressing up in either a witches hat or this fabulous wizards cloak (courtesy of Hal):
(Pumpkin credit: Suzanne Carver)
November is an expensive month filled with a number of family birthdays and anniversarys. Ma, Pip, Auntie Nic, first wedding anniversary of Nic and Tim, and Unky Toby all celebrate something this month and it so far Ma turned 60 and Pip hit 2. Ma had a lovely party at the Avitator Hotel which is a fabulous new hotel in Farnborough that resembles the Guggenhiem Museum in its interior and does very nice food to boot. A small gathering of closest friends and family allowed Mama and Dada a night off without the kids (we didn't tell Pip we were going to see Nonna without him, fearing the enormous tantrums that would follow). It was a great night with lots of lovely words said about Ma once the wine had started to flow. Followed by an appointment with a personal shopper and dinner at the 5th Floor Restaurant at Harvey Nics I think she felt thoroughly spolit and stretched the birthday over a few days!
Although she did take a couple of hours off her own birthday celebrations to make an appearance at Pip's 'Igglepiggle' party on the Sunday. With all his mates around, we had a blast playing pin the blanket on Igglepiggle and pass the parcel. He was spolit rotten with loads of gorgeous presents and is still saying its his birthday many days later!
Saturday two weeks ago, marked the much anticipated arrival of the kittens. Provisionally name Aiko and Hoocus, Mama finally put her foot down on the naming rights to pets in the Sweetwater household and we compromised. Oliver was very generous in giving up Aiko although when prompted about their names today he called them Aiko and Hoocus, so I'm not sure he's entirely sold on the idea!
We got kitties from the local Cat Protection League who after our home inspection deemed us worthy parents. The litter of 4 boys and 1 girl came from theEaling branch so we know absolutely nothing about the boys except that they are moggies. Hoocus is a grey tabby and Milo reminds both Jeff and I of Alex the lion in Madagascar with his grey tipped fur and brown tabby face. They will fit in the palm of your hand although will no stay there for more than a nanosecond. Milo isdefinately the sookey one and takes any opportunity to climb on board for cuddles whereas Hoocus is more aloof but still happy to cuddle on his own terms - typical cat. Right now, I'm sitting on the sofa now feeling toasty from the roasting mac on my lap and twofur balls right next door to me. I can hear the purring above the tumble dryer.
Our little bundles of joy have been a so very cute, if a teensy bit destructive. They are often found climbing up the furniture hanging on for dear life with their tiny kitten claws. Which, if you're asking, are like small knives if climbing up your leg - another favourite pastime of theirs. They spend most of their time trying to cause 'death from above' by jumping on one another from a great height and Oliver and Pip are stillthoroughly confused about why the kittens are allowed to bite and swipe and generally maime each other, when they aren't. Life's hard to figure out isn't it boys?
But enought of the little boys in the Sweetwater household, I've been thinking lately about what to do when the boys go to school and with the independent bookscene being non-existent in anywhere but central London, a job in a book shop is seriously unlikely. So what to do? I've been interested in the Montessori way of teaching for a while now, and I found a course that runs from September next year in nearbyWoking to qualify as a Montessori nursery teacher. In the meantime, I'm going to see if I can work out childcare in order to volunteer at Oliver's nursery for one day a week to get a feel for how it all works. The headmistress seems really positive about me helping out and is being very supportive in terms of work placement for the course too... It'll be a good thing to focus on although I have NO idea how my rusty old brain will cope with essay writing and exams since it's been turned to mush with over 3 years of poop, dribble and toddler conversations to blame.
I think that's about it, life carries on as usual, but this is a little disjointed so apologies. But you get the general jist. All's good.
posted by Emma Sweetwater at
November 11, 2009
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