Summer 2012

What have we been up to?

Well, E has been off preschool since mid-July, and won't be starting Reception (Kindergarten) until Sept 20.  I thought 9 weeks would feel like an incredibly long stretch of time... actually it has felt like time is passing quicker than normal!  We've been fairly adventurous - bus rides to faraway parks, an experimental trip to Brighton, a trip to South Bank on a weekday with just me and the kids, and lots of weekend activities.

Today was hot.  I'd caught wind through local gossip of a water park of sorts at a park in Wimbledon.  There's a paddling pool in Clapham as well, but that one's next to a busy road, and I figured we couldn't go far wrong with Wimbledon given there was apparently a playground right beside the water feature.

Anyhow, we went, and it was superb.  See?

Only next time, I really have to remember to bring towels.  The kids drip-dried in the sun, playing in the playground - and were mostly dry before they hit the sand pit.

There's a lake (with pedalos) as well, but we stuck to the water area and playground.  Lured the kids out with promise of a late lunch at the cafe (you can just see the roof of it in the above picture).

Siblings sharing a cherry ice cream. 

Our garden, as of several hours ago.  The kids love the homemade "water slide" and B also set up the sprinkler for a little while, which E proclaimed was a VOLCANO that they had to periodically run away from.  It was in the mid-80's today and tomorrow is forecast to be even hotter.

Earlier this week, we went to Brighton.  Met Granny at the train station, rode 50 minutes on a fast train from Clapham, and met B.  He'd booked the afternoon off work.  We had fish and chips, visited the aquarium and pier.  Family friend met us there, with her son who is less than a few weeks older than E.

Interior of the aquarium.  I was feeling dizzy from the underwater tunnel we'd just passed through.

Emerged into an increasingly rainy and windswept day - C on the beach outside.

Walking the pier - E in his waterproof jacket.

B and C on the carousel.

Going up... B and E on the log flume.  B has forbidden me from posting the after-picture.  E was wearing a waterproof jacket... B was not!

This post is getting long, and the night is short.  I still have more to cover - E's birthday and his party, our visit to the London Eye and South Bank, our trip to Legoland, and snaps of the Olympic torch relay passing through our area.  Will get to those soon!  In the meantime - tomorrow we meet for brunch with friends, then possibly meet other friends at the same water park we visited today (timing allowing!).  Monday I've got a playdate with one of E's friends - they'll be in the same class under the same teacher next month which is nice.  They met at one of the local playgroups when they were both just two!  Tuesday - E has a few hours of sports camp... and the weeks wind on.  Three more until his first visit to school - then B has a week off work... after that, it'll be a matter of days before E goes to school fulltime....

April

To what purpose, April, do you return again?
Beauty is not enough.
You can no longer quiet me with the redness
Of little leaves opening stickily.
I know what I know.
The sun is hot on my neck as I observe
The spikes of the crocus.
The smell of the earth is good.
It is apparent that there is no death.
But what does that signify?
Not only under ground are the brains of men
Eaten by maggots.
Life in itself
Is nothing,
An empty cup, a flight of uncarpeted stairs.
It is not enough that yearly, down this hill,
April
Comes like an idiot, babbling and strewing flowers.

-Edna St. Vincent Millay (who, I believe, was a friend of my grandmother's).

We are not up to much here. Our balmy weather disappeared quite sharply and now we have all the bright colors of spring underneath a drab gray sky. I don't mind the rain because it's been so dry lately, and there's a water shortage, but the cold is getting on my nerves. I thought I was all done with wrapping us all up in 900 layers just to go on a walk around the neighborhood.

It's the second week of the Easter holidays here, and E won't have to be back at school until next Tuesday. B had booked today off work and we spent it visiting grandparents in North London and going swimming - well, everyone else went swimming while I perched in the attached cafe area on top of a mound of our stuff, armed with a book.

Speaking of books, I broke 60k on the novel and hope to be done with the rough draft by the time we leave for France in May. Finding it awfully difficult to make time for the writing these days, but I hope to pick up the pace when E's at preschool next week. I can usually get a little bit done in the morning before picking him up at lunchtime, even if C doesn't sleep for long.

We find out whether E has been admitted to our local school (the one his preschool is attached to) next week sometime. I wasn't all that worried about our eligibility but then I heard that the school had 200+ applications for 52 places this year. So it'll be nice to have the whole official letter and all.

Our nights with a certain young miss have been full of ups and downs. Last Friday she only woke once - at 4am - and then slept until 7. Best she's ever done, and of course she doesn't go and repeat it... the nights since have been anywhere from 4-6+ wakings. But I do think we're getting somewhere, slowly. Naturally, any progress we make with the baby has to be somewhat offset by a little boy, standing at the foot of our bed at x'o'clock in the morning and saying "Dadden, my bed has turned into a volcano, you need to come turn it into a bed again." And then showing up fifteen minutes later, after being given a "guardian" stuffed wolf, to say "Wolfy has caught fire in the hot volcano, please save him."

Well, bedtime is rolling around sooner than expected (doesn't it always?) so here is a token picture, because blog posts with just words always seem like such insurmountable walls of text....

I hasten to add that B was the one who dressed her, and the pom-pom boots were definitely his choice as well. But she carries off the look well, I think.

Snow 2012

First snow this winter... it's been very mild (much to my relief). We got a few inches, enough for snowballs and snowmen and general fun. It came in on Saturday night, lasted all of Sunday, and now, Monday night, is pretty much gone. Slushy school run Monday morning wasn't much fun, though.

E and I took a snowy morning walk.


We brought back a snowball for C, but she wasn't convinced...

It was nice to have a little bit of snow and cold weather... but now I'm ready for Spring.

We went to the Natural History Museum on Saturday. The kids loved it. E told us he would dream about volcanoes in museums that night. There was a great section on volcanoes complete with different types of lava deposits - most of them touchable. Also an earthquake room, set up to look like a replica of a Japanese supermarket. E was a little bit surprised at the earthquake but he enjoyed keeping his balance on the moving floor! After that we all saw some fossils and then left for home, knowing that the baby (who had no nap) was slowing turning into a ticking time bomb. Highlights of the trip: E's reaction to the volcanoes and C's reaction to the trains - there was no room on one of the short trips we took so I stood with her (in a sling) and had my hand on the railing, with B's hand nearby. After a moment of reflection, C placed her hand in between ours and kept it there! With a smug expression, I might add. Too cute.

School, Autumn, Life

Life continues to roll on, complete with mild-to-moderate sleep deprivation and busy schedules (mostly B). E has settled in to preschool, and is the youngest in his class by some way (only August-born). I have mixed feelings about school in general... whether he'll be a child who falls through the cracks, gets bullied, perhaps overlooked by adults due to his general easygoing nature and reluctance to rock the boat.

He is not like a "typical boy" running around playing guns, dinosaurs, etc (although he's into vehicles, especially trains) and although he has social skills, they don't extend to defending himself when confronted by someone aggressive (or perhaps even another very assertive child). He takes criticism to heart and is sensitive, but tends not to show it on the outside. For example, he'll come home and tell me an aide was "cross with him" for something or other. He can tell me the context, because he's quite verbal, and these incidents are always, from an adult point of view, trivial. Yet to him they are a big deal, and I'm trying to process how I feel about that - whether it's a "necessary evil" for him to learn about the world, or whether I ought to look at ways to protect him from that kind of thing until he matures a little bit more. I don't like the idea of sending him off to kindergarten at the age of 4 - one MONTH after he turns 4, to be precise.

I would rather, in my heart of hearts, send him to a Montessori preschool until he hits 5. He is reading simple words now - my, no, dog, on, a few others. He is asking "what do these words spell?" every day. He is (and has been) counting with one-one correspondence up to at least five or six, and more if he is in a careful mood. He uses words like "reflection" accurately, in context, and as part of his general vocabulary. He can draw faces although he isn't much interested in drawing in general (he enjoys painting more). He is musical. He is kind.

And I just don' t feel his teachers are seeing much of this (if at all). I had a scheduled 10 minute talk with them on a parent conference day and E sat to color in a picture while I chatted. One on one with the aide, he colored in an "S" and volunteered the sound it made (sss) and also that "Snake begins with S." She was surprised. I wasn't. And I understand that there's a minimum ratio the teachers deal with but I do struggle with knowing that my son is possibly getting overlooked. Not that I want him to be drilled academically, but... it'd be nice if they appreciated what he can do. I get the feeling that the wheels are in motion for preschoolers who need extra help, but no plans in place that recognizes advanced/gifted children. And I will be honest and say that it makes me a little bit angry.

Angry that the school talks about how important attendance is and talks about FINING parents who take their child on vacation when school is in session... yet doesn't seem to recognize each child is an individual. I am fully on board with E learning how to stand in line, wait his turn, etc (actually he does all that pretty well already) but I am NOT on board with him becoming a little lemming and losing the ability to think for himself/outside the box. And I do think school, as a whole, promotes that. It's easier for the teachers, perhaps, easier for "the majority."

Well, I don't know where I'm going with this, but it's nice to put my thoughts down. I'm sure I'll refer to this post later in life. B and I sometimes go back to older posts on this blog to see how we felt back then, or look at pictures, or find the dates of something we all did. So now I've got this entry and down the line, when I need to make a definitive decision about his schooling, I'll be able to refer to it.

I think what I'd most like is a halfway house. If I could send him to school for half-days and then involve him in extracurricular activities a few times per week (sports, language, music) I would be happy. I don't think I'm up for 100% homeschooling, just as I feel leery about 100% regular schooling. I guess the only thing to do is watch how things go and play it by ear.

Meanwhile... life rolls on... we went to Clapham today to the tea place at the edge of the Common.

Father-son matching blue turtlenecks. Pistachio ice cream for the young master.

A nice treat.

Clowning around outside for the camera.
C chewing my ring!

I have a picture of me standing by this fence when I was 28 weeks pregnant with E... life really does fly by!

They love each other.

Going toward the car after a little walk around. We ran into friends about 30 seconds after I snapped this photo!

That's all for now. We are in the thick of autumn and I'm enjoying it despite the cold mornings. It's feeling like a good time to wrap up warm, enjoy cocoa, unwind, prepare for the incoming holidays. We are off to Wales in mid-November and Halloween is soon....

Spring 2011

...is finally here. B was out all day today so E, C and I went out for a long midday/early afternoon walk. It was bright and sunny, the skies were blue, and it was reasonably warm for once. Everything's been gray for so long that it was almost breathtaking to see sunlight again.

A few pics, mostly from Kew Gardens....


And a gorgeous spring sunset viewed from our garden. I don't think the picture does it justice. It looked as if a magical dragon had soared through the skies and spewed out plumes of bright orange cloud.

October Already

I really enjoy autumn, although it's becoming more difficult to get out and about as pregnancy progresses. It's been a bit of a roller coaster lately with some early contractions etc. Got tested for gestational diabetes last week. Fasted since 10pm the night before, went in to the hospital, got stuck in the arm with a butterfly needle, drank a pint of godawful sugary stuff, sat in the waiting room for two hours, then got jabbed in the other arm with another needle.

Surprisingly the results are within normal blood sugar range so I'm feeling a bit better about this blurry vision I've been having. Back to the consultant's tomorrow for more checks anyhow.

Been enjoying Dad and Stan's visit although I've had to take more of a back seat than I would have liked - am a bit jealous of all the museums they've been going to and I would have loved to go sailing on the Norfolk Broads with them. Perhaps another time! (P.S. - Fran if you're reading this, Stan had a bite of salad. Should this be listed in the Guinness Book of World records?)

E has been coming along really well. Lots of chatter about "Granddad" and "Stanpa" so I'm not entirely sure what he'll do with himself when Dad leaves next week. We've been going to playgroups twice a week which he really enjoys. We've also been reading a TON of books since I've been less mobile.

Without further ado... some pictures and a video of E "reading" me a Peter Rabbit book this morning. I think it's mostly memorization but he may very well have a few sight words by now.

Reading with Granddad.

At the playroom in the National Army Museum in Chelsea - visited with Dad a few weeks ago.





And here's the vid. Enjoy.

Approaching Autumn

Went out to Kew this weekend. I'm getting slower as this pregnancy progresses but it was nice to have a walk in the fresh crisp air. Lots of kids out in woolly jumpers, cardigans, jackets etc, unspoken concession to summer's end. E had a blast at Kew's playground as usual. We also found a little indoor play place in the shop which had a toy kitchen, a crawl-through tunnel, and crayons/paper with kid-sized tables and chairs. The cynic in me sees the probable extra profit they make, the parent in me just breathes a sigh of relief at something extra for a curious toddler to do.




After a long play session, we had sandwiches and water and B indulgently bought E a pinwheel and a little stuffed monkey in the shop. E fell asleep in the car on the way home clutching his new toy. We're all beat (especially me - aching muscles!) and looking forward to a nice warm evening inside perhaps with a movie.

Some recent quotes (lest I forget them):

"Mmm, flower. Smells DELICIOUS."
When asked to count how many eyes he has... "One... two... three FOUR FIVE! Six seven EIGHT!" (Big smug grin.)

And the worst, the very worst....
E: "Spider, Mama. Spider!"
Me: "WHERE?" (as I nervously peer around and attempt to stand on one toe)
E: "Spider... GONE.... Hahahaha!"

Spring

The UK holds Mother's Day in March, so I was surprised with a chocolate croissant and tea in bed this morning... plus a great card:


Then B and E headed outside to build the tent and tunnel that Grandpa in California sent us for Christmas....

I didn't fit down the tunnel.

But E did.


B also built a little trampoline we picked up last weekend.

Anyhow, that's all I have time for - it's time for a certain gentleman's nap, and I'm off for a hot date with a pot of tea and my notebook at a local cafe. Happy Spring.

Hoping for Spring...

...so we planted lavender seeds today in a little pot!

Or rather, E ate his lunch and watched me do it.

It's on the windowsill awaiting sunshine. February is a hard month for our family. I think of these tiny hopeful seeds as a little something to remember my mother by.