A Mi Manera

No big reason for the title – it’s what I’m listening to at the minute. A Mi Manera = (I think) the Spanish for My Way – it’s the Gypsy Kings’ version of the Frank Sinatra et al. classic, and what my MP3 program threw out in its randomness. Mmmm… cheesy. Err, so what’s been happening? I can’t remember further back than the weekend.

Saturday was full but good. We were up and out early so that the boys could get to mini-football. It’s the session that J used to go to before we moved, and it was his first time back and K’s first time ever. They both enjoyed it, although K will go into the later session for the younger ones next week. While they were charging about we were upstairs in the cafe watching them and chatting to a mum who was trying to coax her daughter into finishing her maths. (That was very familiar.) With ballet classes, football and I think swimming all happening at once the cafe is full of middle class parents shepherding their children through their extra-curricular activities.

After football we went to get J a recorder for his recorder lessons (under strict instructions to get exactly the right model) and passed some students in bright yellow T-shirts who were fielding the freshers and parents arriving bewildered at the college next to the music shop with their cars jammed full of stuff. Something I remember, and I suppose one day will be on the other side of. I hadn’t thought about it too much, but I expect that at least one of our four will want to go to university or college – I admit that I had been assuming they all would, but I shouldn’t.

Recorder bought we headed over to a community centre on the other side of town for a sling meet. This was largely me doing childcare with 3 / 4 children while Katy talked / did slings with other mums.

Then off to the countryside for the Pumpkin Fair (the annual village fair of somewhere nearby) as last year’s had been good. Like last year there were mutant vegetables, which were judged in about 20 categories, with 3rd to 1st place in each category and some with a cup or trophy for first place. (You got the impression that it mattered a great deal to some people.) We picked up loads of pumpkins and squashes cheaply from a stall groaning with them, watched majorettes, laughed at a clown taking ages to do a handstand on a chair, clapped a juggler while he did very clever things with diablos, and listened to the Boys Brigade band. There were tricks from a BMX stunt expert (impressive at the time, but the photos all look like he’s having nasty accidents and about to come off), and exhibition aerobics from the local primary school. Like last year there was a fire engine and crew and tractors, traction engines and some old cars and motorbikes.

The children had a go at circus skills – low wire, plate spinning and the little pedal wheel things with more fun than success. The boys gave in to the lure of tat – hook a bag. Their prize was a big 4×4 car which was so cheap and nasty that it fell apart before we had even left the car park! This was turned into a learning opportunity about why we appear mean sometimes 🙂 when we want to spend money on things that will give more than 3 minutes’ enjoyment and not on tat.

We drove home on a back road and I was hit by how extremely agricultural it was. Very flat, with fields as far as the eye could see. Only the occasional village, no manufacturing or other industry. God’s ironing board.

On Sunday I was flying solo (as Katy does most work days 🙂 ) as Katy was in Nottingham helping someone to sell slings at a baby show. So after getting up early we had a gentle morning until walking to church (about a mile, as we measured it later on the map). The reading included the body of Christ, and the preacher had us singing happy birthday to someone without using our lips (humming!) and some children had to race to the back without using their legs. After the service was a bring and share lunch that we were invited to stay for even though we hadn’t brought any food, it was all lovely and there was lots left over.

After church we walked home, and it was one of those moments when everything fits into place perfectly, and all the frustrations and annoyance of life are kept at bay and the passing of time doesn’t seem to apply. We were just walking in the sunshine – L was running on ahead with her hair streaming behind her and a smile on her face – by trees which were starting to change colour.

On the way we met a man putting his metal Canadian canoe into the river, so the boys helped him to push it down the slipway. We conked out when we got home – I think I dozed off!

J had been inspired by an arts and crafts book to make pop-up cards for Katy, so we spent the rest of the afternoon doing this. J did his own thing based on a chain of people, which fell foul of escaping glue a bit. L wanted a butterfly, so I drew it and she coloured it in (with some help from K and me when she got tired). K wanted to do a dog, so I suggested he copy one from Hairy MacClary as it has lots of pictures of dogs. He did a really good picture of Bottomley Potts (covered in spots – a dalmatian), and then a tree and some grass for the background. I helped with the pop-up bits and most of the gluing, and Katy was chuffed with the results when she got in after tea (shattered, with A who had been a star at the show but grumpy on the way back).

This week K has had croup, but is slowly getting better (no waking up coughing last night). J did his Maths and English before breakfast yesterday! L has been pushing boundaries / obnoxious a bit. At K’s request I sat with them when I got in on Monday so that they could stand watching the slitheen on the Sarah Jane Adventures. My first time – she has a sonic lipstick! 🙂 Last night we combined supermarket shopping with pizza – while Katy did some shopping, the big 3 and I watched our tea being made, which was impressively quick. Tonight is Badgers and K might need some persuasion to go despite really enjoying it, as he’s worrying about the test coming up next week on the animals that they all researched last week.