BethanyDee, Alfredo G and Famil-ee

oh no!

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Mon, 18 Aug 2008 22:34:05 -0700

Hannah has gone! My faithful reader. Though Esther is back now, so I shall continue to blog :) Ellie now comes out with more words by the day. In the last two days she has just started coming out with many new ones out of the blue- "shoes" "snack" ("nack, nack" as she sat in the trolley and stretched to reach one of the bags) Gosh- "many new ones" and now I can only think of two....not to worry....She is so verbal (read- screams) when she wants something but she is very quick to say "peez" really meekly when you ask her to ask nicely. The other day she whiffed something exciting that I had hdden behind a bag for after dinner and she stretched forth her hand with a look of pained anxiety on her face and yelled "PEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEZ!" Last night she was feeding- with me- because I dont know how to heaven I am going to wean her, and I don't want to force her but I am kind of trying to limit slowly, but anyway, I let her feed for a bit and then told her "ten more" and counted to ten (which is what I used to do with Amelia, and then down to five etc) and after ten, she amzingly acquiescently (two adverbs together? Is that okay? Where is the English student when we need her?) pulled off and I said "all gone" and she reapeated "aw go' " blew a little kiss to the departed milk!

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finishing up

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Sun, 17 Aug 2008 22:26:14 -0700

On Saturday Alfie took Amelia to the cnema to see a Dr Seuss Horton film. He was dying to take her to the cinema, and we had just been to the zoo , so we contrived our Day Six-Animals activity round that, and a trip to the petshop. Ellie and I went to visit our little vineyard in our friends garden, the bush is laden with tomatoes all be they weeny green ones. I am so excited! We also have a pepper plant. That is all we planted (though we did not have much more room in the bit they laid aside for us) because it was a kind of faithless spontaneous "let's see how this goes" act- I should have had more faith in Mother Nature and got myself tons of grow bags for our patio! Next year I wil do just that. Having eaten home grown tomatoes every summer in Spain I can vouch for their incredible flavour, every mouthful is a genuine pleasure! And, Yes! Hannah- that DID warrant an exclamation mark :) Alfredo took them to the library in the afternoon, while I did a spot of cleaning followed by some reading. We had a Columbo session on Sat night, Alfredo was given a fifteen quid voucher by his colleague for his birthday so we added a bit and got ourselves a multi pack. What a great series! I never tire of seeing him walk in with jimpy hair, rubbing his eyes, and sucking his cigar! Hilarious...Day seven of our project and I quote from Amelias diary "We made a Sabbath tree and you take the leaves off and do the activity that is wroten on it" Ellie now says- pan (breda) agua (water) again, buggy, baby, nose, book, all gone, park, po-po (poo in Spanish) weeee ( a swing or a slide) wee-wee (on hearing anyone in bathroom) look (ook) pinza (hairclip in spanish, she pats her clip and says pinza, pinza...) biscuit, uh-oh, car, and a few others that escape me. As I was popping Ellie in the bath she was protesting loudly thinkng that Amelia wasnt getting in with her. Amelia, sat on the toilet, starkers, declared happily "LOOK! She wants me to play with her-oh BLESS her!! Coming Ellie...." she crooned. More soon.

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Projects and stuff

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 05:41:11 -0700

This week we are doing the six "days" of the creation. Monday was light and dark activities, Tuesday was clouds and water, yesterday was plants, trees, flowers, fruit etc, today is sun moon and stars, tomorrow, fish and birds, and saturday, animals and people. Inevitably you have more stuff than you can do in a day but hey, at least we are not getting bored (I include myself in that "we") Amelia is currently painting a bright pink model rocket, after which we are going to make a moon out of air drying clay. We have also made a telescope and various different pictures. I am aware that people run at this level every day for weeks and months at a time, personally, I jst cannot, but the end of the holidays are round the corner so I am just enjoying our last days before Amelia begins school. I have no star cutter to make cookies....an immense disappointment. Maybe I will send them out back to enjoy the SUN while I chill :)

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not much to say but nevertheless..

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:26:35 -0700

By some fortunate twist in fate we had the car today so we gambolled off to the ice cream farm (though no candle factory today) Amelia chose a cherry flavour which I think she disliked but did not want to say so and took a few licks and told me she was full and wanted to feed the rabbits. Ellie didnt want it either, she just wanted the cone. We played for ages on the adventure playground, the three Marias, as they say in Spain.....I love my little ladies. I stopped off at the new Tesco which was, of course, once inside, like any other, but praise heavens for Tesco houmous as I cannot live for many days witout it and Asda variety just is not the same....I have made it and experimented with quantities but just cannot get it as the Tesco version, which is my absolute favourite. So buy I must. We did some finger painting on our return and Amelia got covered. Ellie had just been rolling around in the dirt in general, so I bathed them around 4pm. When Alfredo appeared (5.15) I donned my running gear (if you can call it that...I had got rid of everything except trainers almost, so I donned whatever crummy quasi-sporty clobber I could come up with, making mental note to go shopping, having rediscovered the joy of pounding asphalt) and off I went. And here I am. Ready for a big glass of water, a shower, and dinner. Until tomorrow.

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Monday Monday, la-laaaa..etc

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 04:57:18 -0700

Ellie is asleep and Amelia is busy drawing a magnificent John the Baptist picture for her lesson tonight, and seems like she is enjoying every moment of it. Meanwhile the breadmachine is a -whirring, the rain is a-threatening, my hands are a-stinging (we just went blackberry picking) and my mind is a-buzzing, wondering how to prioritise what I need to do. I ran again this morning, positively buzzing off my sheer willpower when pillow pulls and bedclothes beckon /.......Determination is a powerful thing. Alfredo has been trying to get me to take up running again since Ellie was born, saying "You know you will love it when you start again" and I just responded no,no,no, I don't miss it any more, etc Mainly I was put off due to pelvic floor issues. Most mothers will understand that...but then I decided I would, and I am so glad I did. It is a great feeling to be sure. More later.

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welcome home to us, we say

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Sat, 09 Aug 2008 06:48:18 -0700

Hasnt it been a while? Think I will give this another crack. We have just returned from a trip to Norwich. We had a very fun week, starting with great Great Yarmouth in all its tacky glory, with crazy golf (obviously), ice cream on the prom (naturally) and chips on the front (well...just.....crucial really) Also the "famous" elephant trail, which if it had been for me, we would have seen all 53, but you know...little legs have their limits... there were some beautiful ones. I hear Liverpool has a similar thing with sheep, so perhaps we will pop across. A summer party at Seth and Emmas with bouncy castle and various garden games, Ellie didn't leave the swing for much of it. It gives me great delight to see Amelia enjoy her cousins. She loves them all, big and small! We also had a trip to Mousehold Heath, slightly marred by a dog poo "situation", Amelia stepped in one so huge it almost defied description and in her anxiety, began to hop from foot to foot, getting it all over both trouser legs and both legs (they being 3/4 leg affairs) In steps Daddy who also came out of it all somewhat....tainted.....Ellie just stepped in another, happy as Larry. Forest walk being cut short because.....you have neevr seen anything like it. Thank goodness for George , 3 minutes down the road. We spent a day in Pettits, also with Seth and Emma, a little theme park for very little kids, Emily and Amelia went on the pirate ship and Ellie on the rollercoaster so perhaps you understand the scale of it....after which we had a sleepover, Amelia and Emily were very excited for their first pyjama party, complete with party rings and rainbow drops...Emily was heard to say at one point, very seriously " our pyjama party is going very well sofar isnt it Amelia?"

Have not got time to write more, though I have multiple anecdotes to relate, watch this space. On a triumphant note to finish, I watched the sun rise this morning as I ran across the bridge over River Dee! My first run in....quite a while. It was, without a doubt, more thrilling and satisfying than any sleep. The runner hath return-ed.

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photos

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 23:22:05 -0700

just uploading some onto flickr, though all very similar.

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projects

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 03:00:10 -0700

Due to, to put it bluntly, insatisfaction at home, I was praying and felt impressed to do what Hannah used to do with jesse and libby in her homeschool days of little projects, chosen by them. At half term we did BEES and had a lot of activities, crafts, recipes, songs, film and activity sheets based around them and she loved it so much. Last week we did EYES and seeing, and this week she has chosen her first one herself "Angels" I have found it only takes me about 15 minutes a day to sort out a few things but it makes the day so much better in the low spots, we get on with some activities belongng to her project and we have lots of fun. 1-3.30 is nursery sschool obviously. Anyway I mention this because I dressed them in bridesmaid dresses that I had and did a little "angel" photo session dressed in white/cream and when I get time I will post them on flickr.

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superlatives, adjectives and the like

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Mon, 09 Jun 2008 02:55:32 -0700

Amelia was examining a Pritt Stick this morning and said with distaste in her voice "THIS glue is full of hairs and DIRTNESS!"

Another one.Dressed in one of her princess dressing up affairs she announced "I am the beautifullest and the most greatest!"

She loves using adjectives but often misuses them as kids do. She said excitedly one day, of some project or other that she was excited about "my (such and such....what was it?) is going to be TERRIFIED!" (I am guessing she meant terrific!)

Her favourite is "suddenly noticed" with great emphasis on the "suddenly" and she pops it in wherever possible. "Embarassed" is another one that she tends to use right and left, but never quite correctly bless her!

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copied from hannah

nobody@vox.com(BethanyDee) — Sun, 08 Jun 2008 09:36:42 -0700

Are you hungry?:	Kind of, though my cupboard is somewhat bare. relatively speaking
Have you ever jumped off a skyscraper?:	No
Are you wearing socks?:	No. It's a gorgeous day and I hardly ever wear socks at home anyway
What is the last song you heard?:	Hmmmmm....some hymn or other this morning
What do you hear?:	Amelia and Alfie making an omelette. Ellie saying "ook! ook!"
How old were you 7 years ago?:	24
Is green your favorite color?:	Yes, to be surrounded by.
What about orange?:	I love orange.
When was the last time you went to the beach?:	Mmmm...I havent been since we wnt back to Gorleston beach at Mum and Dads which was last summer
Do you live in California?:	No, far far away
What is the most important, best thing you have ever learned?:	I like Hannahs answer. Though there are many other things too...and it would take me too long to go into each and every one
Do you have an older sister?:	No
Younger sister?:	2 of them, 13 months younger, who will probably be the only people who read this!
When was the last time you were sent to your room?:	Cannot even remember
Can you dive into a pool?:	Never have been able to get that down, I am NOT a water baby
When did you take your first steps?:	I dont know
Do you regret this?:	Huh?
Do you have a crush on anybody?:	Ditto Hannahs answer re husband...though handsome faces there are many.
Last time you had a headache?:	cannot remember
Why?:	Because I do not get them
Last time you sang?:	I was just singing. I sing a lot to myself. Sometimes its embarassing when you are out, I dont even realise I do it
Last time you consumed ice cream?:	9 days ago at Cheshire Ice Cream farm, mango and ginger sorbet
What are you allergic to?:	Nothing as far as I know
Have you even drawn all over your body?:	No.
Pierced your ears by yourself?:	No
Do you have any tattoos?:	No
Where?:
What of?:
Do you live with your parents?:	Not since I was 19 when I "moved out" but really really, not since I was 26 when I properly moved out and got married
Why?:
Is school fun?:	Certainly wasnt for me
Why?:	Because I never had friends
Do you like rap music?:	not so much
Do you wear glasses?:	Odd days
Contacts?:	most days
What did the last text message you receive say?:	"Hi Beth, I am chilling in the park, the York concert has been cancelled"
What did the last text message you sent say?:	"What a disgrace to music lovers. Its gorgeous here too"
Do you like texting?:	Love it
Texting or talking on the phone?:	Texting, so convenient!
What are the last four digits of your cellphone number?:	ooops, I should learn mine
Are you good at Math?:	Basic stuff that I use every day yes, but I have forgotten all the wierd and wonderful stuff (basically because its useless and you never use it)
Social Studies?:	I don't think its difficult to be "good" at it if you can think
Science?:	Ditto Hannah. I find it far more fascinating as I have grown up, Biology is the "easiest" for me to grasp and relate to
Language Arts?:	Love them
Reading?:	I read somewhat, though at the moment I am kind of dipping in and out
Do you like swimming?:	Not in the slightest to be honest

What time is right now? 1:38 AM (EST) 1736. Teatime

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