The amusing child quote of this post is K asking for more apple and elderlyflower juice. It was very nice, but well passed its best before date ;).
Hallowe’en was marked by a children’s party hosted by some American / lived in America friends, complete with toffee apple making, pumpkins and popping of bubble wrap (of course). More pumpkin carving back at our house, and the boys were rather pleased that no trick-or-treaters appeared as it meant that none of the goodies had to be given away.
The boys have had a couple of swimming lessons – they’re not ready to swim the channel yet, but their enjoyment of it is definitely improving. Badgers has also restarted and there’s a Remembrance Day parade this Sunday that they’re sort of expected to be at. Uniforms have arrived (polo shirt plus military-style jumper), and the shoulders look as if they have shoulder pads in! L started properly at the nursery down the road today for a few hours a week, which she is getting more used to. It’s not in the same league as the fabulous nursery school that the boys went to, but it means she gets to play with children her own age and maybe we get to meet local parents.
A now has “addah!” as a general purpose sound (sorry not to transcribe it properly, Beardie, but my imphlabet is too rusty). She also appears to be following her brothers and sister in not being in any kind of hurry to move to solids.
We learned what noise our car makes if you let it get very low on oil :oops:. Fortunately it has stopped making that noise after some oil and a trip to the garage. We were in a petrol station recently and K said “All the odd numbers are on this side” and pointed to the left of the car. It took a bit of to-and-fro but we quickly worked out that he was referring to the numbers that label the petrol pumps, which was a nice and unexpected display of maths and good observation too.
Friday club has had an Autumn Walk (hope your idea isn’t copyright Nic 🙂 ) with nice photos on Flickr by Katy. At a recent birthday party I felt like the Junk Food Parent, as the family of the birthday girl doesn’t do sugar. The party food was bread+marmite or bread+pate, home made pop corn, olives, sprouted beans etc, tomatoes and satsumas. The cake was what seemed to be a flour-less fruit and nut cake with home made marzipan bits (in the shape of a butterfly). It was all very nice but not typical children’s party food, and definitely no pink icing on the cake!
A colleague sent me a link to a video an eye-opening talk on world development, and for once the technology used to present it helped and didn’t boil things down to a series of sterile telegraphese bullet points.
The title comes from the famous quote by Isaac Newton, which he probably got from someone else. His final words are fabulous, but not something that most people would think of on the spur of the moment.
I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only a boy playing on the sea-shore, and diverting myself in now and then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.
Maybe I ought to prepare some final words now!
Thank you very much Beardie for the fantastic Sigur Ros link. I love their music, and the photos are excellent too. There were a few where children are having shoulder carries from adults, and I thought that that is a metaphor for parenthood. You help your child to see or to reach things they can’t without you, trust is important, you support them, it can be fun and it can be hard work! Also it can be different for each child and adult: J has always hated shoulder carries but likes piggy backs and K always makes a point of holding my hair out of my eyes when he holds on. Katy can manage (sometimes with the aid of one or two slings) a child on the front and one on the back, which is beyond me! And there’s also the aspect of outgrowing, that one day maybe they’ll carry children of their own (and maybe I’ll carry grandchildren). Anyway, the photos are lovely – the gentle warmth of the relationship between the children and their parents is beautiful.
I am completely obsessed by Sigur Ros. Have loved their music for a few years but have been blown away by Heima (the documentary that came out on Monday). I watched it start to finish Mon, Tues, and Weds! I can’t commend it highly enough. A stunning film musically, visually, and emotionally. One of the best films I have ever watched.