Meep, Meep

Earlier this week, the boys and I went into Sainsburys.  As usual they sat down to digest their kiddie magazines while I raced around the shop.  On our way out a DVD caught Oliver's eye - Road Runner.  He and Pip both love the Warner Brothers cartoons, or WB as Ol calls them, and can be heard telling various friends the plot and funny bits over and over.

On hearing I wasn't going to buy the DVD, Oliver piped up "it's only 1 plus 2 pounds Mama, that's not much".  I replied if he had £3 in his piggy bank he would be more than welcome to spend it on whatever he so wished.  I was in a hurry.

Back at home, Oliver dutifully empties out his home-made piggy bank to discover he is 70p short.  Disaster.  So I think maybe they can actually work and do chores for that 70p.  Teaching them the value of money and all that.   Bear in mind, Pip had to ask what the word chores meant. ;-)

Between us we decide that they could help wash the car and earn 50p between them.  The car washing is suitably hilarious.  The car ends up dirtier than when we started with massive dirt streaks across it from where they boys had huge fun lobbing the dirty cloths at the car when they'd decided it was 'clean enough'. It has to be said thought, they did work for their money and throughout the effort, Oliver kept exclaiming '50p! Wow. 50p!' like he couldn't believe someone was willing to give him that much money for so little work.  Suffice to say I'm happy to keep his level of expectation low.

Still 20p short.  What to do?  Not to be stopped short of his goal, the entrepreneurial Oliver suggested making his and Pip's beds for some cash.  Teaching him the skills of negotiation by example, Mama said he'd got a deal if he did hers as well.  So for the last three days all our beds have been made with varying degrees of success, but the effort was made and come Friday morning Mama paid up 20 whole pence.

Down to the supermarket we headed.  Not without drama though, as on leaving Elphicks Oliver ran towards the escalator only to fall and shatter his piggybank and make his hard earned coins (mainly bronze so you see the problem) scatter all over the lingerie department.  We all got down on our hands and knees with the kind staff of Elphicks and the old ladies of Farnham to hunt for the numerous coins, with Mama promising a very distraught Oliver that should we not find everything she would sub him.  But remarkably we found all the coins and headed off to Sainsburys.

To find the DVD was still there was a huge relief for Mama who didn't really fancy driving round all the Sainsburys in South-West Surrey to find one and Oliver paid for his DVD with his money very proudly on the self service till.  He clutched the DVD and the receipt all the way home, happy as a small boy can be.

A compliment

Thank you to the man on the orange bike who said to Oliver today "you cycled up that hill faster than Bradley Wiggins" because it made a little boy's day.

He beamed from ear to ear when he told Mama, Dada, Pip and his best friend Joe.  Twice.

London 2012. Women's marathon.

Spur of the moment, Mama went to London to see the marathon with the boys.  Boys not very impressed with either Mama or the marathon.  They are impressed seeing Nonna and Big G.

All I can say is, the girls run fast.  Really fast.