Apple and sandwich

The children were playing “restaurants” today. (You would think we ate out regularly!). It went something like this.

Isabelle: Hello customer.

Aidan: (Sitting at the table). Hello.

I: What is your name?

A: Ummmmm – Mama [cute! Getting into the role play thing I guess]

I: [Not having any of this]. Aidan. (Writes on her pad).

A: Yes.

I: Aidan C-R? [Using my and Brendon’s surnames in a hyphenated fashion]

A: Yes.

I: Would you like some food?

A: Apple and sandwich.

I: (Writing) Apple and sandwich. Password? [Obviously been watching me at the computer for too long!]

A: Yes.

I: OK. One moment. (Comes into the kitchen to where I’m preparing dinner). Chef, my customer would like an apple and a sandwich. How long will that take?

Me: Dinner is in about 1 hour.

I: Right. He’s very hungry. My customer is very hungry. Here is his order (shows me the pad with writing on it). He wants an apple and a sandwich.

An apple and a sandwich were not forthcoming (due to the proximity of dinner). Luckily the customer didn’t seem to mind.

Bird art

Here is some art that Isabelle completed yesterday at Playcentre. It is a collage of a bird. The white feather on the left is its tail. The large feather in the middle is its body, with a wing on each side. The face (eyes, nose, mouth/beak) is drawn in felt pen up the top. The triangles are “nice decorations to make it nicer”. The white feather up the top near the face is “a thing which goes up in the air and sucks up air”. Isabelle says “this is purple paper and its stuck on with glue and sellotape”.

Weekend

Intense rain is hammering our house at the moment, combined with strong winds. A good day for staying indoors. We managed the weekly grocery shop this morning, but I’ve spent the rest of the day sheltering inside. The Playcentre washing bag is still hanging out on the line. It may as well stay there now! At least the washing mountain it contained is clean, dry, folded, and awaiting removal back to Playcentre tomorrow.

I have been unaccountably tired today – well, waking at 4.00 am alongside a thrashing Aidan didn’t help, but even so, I have been very unmotivated to do anything except read my internet forum and snooze in my chair. Isabelle took the opportunity to decorate my forehead with pink number stickers while I rested. Aidan is wearing blue sticker “earrings”. Brendon seems the only family member currently immune from sticker decoration.

That reminds me of a couple of Easters back. Isabelle’s aunty sent her some stickers, which she carefully adhered to the cat. Must see if I can find the photo. (Here it is, right there at the top of this post!)

We had a children’s birthday party yesterday – very nice, relaxing and fun. Isabelle and Aidan both wanted to wear hot pink lipstick as part of their party clothes. I let them - the only quarter given to gender was that Aidan wore only a dab while I carefully traced the line of Isabelle’s lips. I find it quite strange putting lipstick on Isabelle, purely because our lips are different shapes! You sort of get used to putting it on the same way, and I’m always struck by the fact that I have to concentrate a bit harder with her.

Messy play

A big day at Playcentre today – lots of mess, paint, clay and excitement! The first event of note was some painting on a large roll of paper on the floor, using brushes, rollers, feet and vehicles (toy cars and the like). Isabelle really enjoyed layering the paint and painting “I”s. She was observed formally doing this, so we have some pictures and an analysis to add to her portfolio.

Next we made scones. This was the first time that I had initiated a cooking activity, although I have been involved in cooking many times before. I had by necessity done some pre-planning (buying ingredients, writing a recipe up and clipping it to an easel, sorting out what implements we needed etc). This sort of thing is why I really enjoy Playcentre. I find baking with the children at home really stressful. At Playcentre, they can make a mess, get the recipe “wrong” – and enjoy the whole process! Isabelle made a lovely, large scone that spread over the baking tray. Aidan emptied his first bowl of flour, baking powder and salt onto the table, then swept it with great flourishes onto the floor. His second bowl (sometime later) developed, with adult assistance, into a medium-sized, relatively regularly shaped scone. Both enjoyed eating their scones later in the day.

Later, we had a mass of ping pong balls released into the Playcentre, with much associated trajectory joy. Near to the end, I brought out the white clay, which was very sticky and wet. This developed into clay fingerpainting, with the addition of paint, and water from the waterplay trough.

I am tired out now, and looking forward to the weekend. Dinner is in the oven, the washing (from yesterday) is folded and away, and the dishes are washed. Small achievements maybe, it means I can do my blog without feeling as if I should be doing the housework instead. And tonight is my tv night – America’s Next Top Model!!! (shame, shame ;-) ).

Maternity wear and nappy wars

Today I managed to score some bargains in the maternity wear department. Two pairs of shorts for $5 each (reduced from $25 each) and a summer skirt for $20 (reduced from $70). I was wondering what I would be wearing over the last two months of my pregnancy…. For the last two, I was big and pregnant in the winter, so I don’t have any lightweight maternity clothes. In addition, because I was working full or part-time while pregnant with the other two, my maternity wardrobe is fine on the corporate stuff, but less practical for the rigours of Playcentre and rolling around on the lawn.

I have also been bidding for some nappies for the new baby on Trademe. I am probably the last person in New Zealand to start using this site (well, I’m using Brendon’s username – I wouldn’t have bothered if I had had to set myself up). The nappies are part of a number of charity auctions, so I was quite happy to bid reasonably high, knowing that the money was off to a good cause. I haven’t won anything yet (although I was leading in 4 auctions simultaneously at one point, which would have left me with more newborn nappies than I needed!).

Life inside

Ahh, gale force winds, driving rain…..a Wellington spring!!!!

Today was very much a stay-at-home day. I baked muffins, made semi-soft butter, “made” my own natural muesli, and I baked a loaf of bread. Aidan painted the windows hot pink with a sponge roller (permitted activity) then moved on to paint a fabric chair hot pink too (forbidden activity). Isabelle wrote letters to her cousin and dressed up in layers of fairy clothes. I washed dishes, swept the floor and sponged down the fabric chair. I used the dryer.

Tomorrow we will probably make it further than the letterbox as we have an afternoon engagement. Will be a nice change….

Parenting expo

Today I went to a Mother, Baby and Child expo in Lower Hutt while Brendon did some concreting at his mother’s. Having done these types of shows before, I had seen several of the stands previously. But there were new things of interest – a new business with some wonderful wooden toys (and a Playcentre rewards scheme!), some lovely fitted newborn nappies and a stall with babylegs (I bought some yellow and black striped ones for next year’s rugby season!). Babylegs are like leg warmers for babies, except they go further up the length of the leg. They are useful for sun protection in summer, and extra warmth under gowns. They are also good for showing off cute newborn cloth nappies, which would otherwise be hidden under trousers.

In addition, I saw two women I “know” from my online forum. There was a bouncy castle and bubble machine for the children, and a pottle of hot chips and a doughnut to share once we had finished. We finished off the trip with a visit to a family of ducks who were in the park adjacent to the hall.

We are in the grip of extended rain at the moment, so it looks like tomorrow will be a stay-indoors kind of day. Might do some baking….

The Lovely Bones

I have just finished reading The Lovely Bones. This is the first piece of fiction I’ve read in aaaages. I bought it last week on sale and using a birthday book voucher, which meant I paid the princely sum of $4.50! I started it with a bit of hesitation though, knowing by its premise that there would be some unsavoury things described in the text. (For those who haven’t heard of this book, it is narrated by a young girl from heaven after her murder). It is definitely gripping – you do want to keep reading on, although the pace inevitably slipped towards the end, as time went on and the drama in the immediate aftermath of her death dissipated. The necessary suspension of disbelief with a dead narrator began to get stretched more and more as the plot thickened too – I didn’t really buy some of the later events. Recommended for others? Absolutely, if you pay only $4.50! And also if you feel like something a little bit different.

Adapting this book for the big screen is apparently one of the projects that our local man Peter Jackson has on the boil at the moment. I could really imagine him doing it, given what he did with Heavenly Creatures.

Plastic bag

This morning was our weekly trip to the supermarket. We have our own bags, which we bring along with us every week. This has led to a marked decrease in the number of plastic bags that we have in the house. This scarcity has, in turn, led to a marked increase in the value of a plastic bag. From something that used to overflow our bag bin and generally make a nuisance of itself, it has now become “Oh, careful, don’t make a hole in that plastic bag!” or “Oooo, a plastic bag! Quick, put it in the bag bin!”.

(By the way, I use plastic bags mainly to line our rubbish bin and to contain our paper recycling (so that it does not stick, sodden and wet to the bottom of the recycling bin on a wet day, nor blow away in a howling gale. I refuse to buy plastic bags….).

Today

We are coming into a long weekend. I intend to spend tonight in front of the television, hopefully eating chocolate. The chocolate depends on whether or not I fall asleep before the children go to bed!

Today is my Playcentre duty day, which means I am reasonably tired. We had a visitor this afternoon too – a friend of Aidan’s from Playcentre came here afterwards to play while his mother attended a funeral. He is a delightful child and was very easy to look after for a couple of hours. He was very gracious towards Aidan, offering him drinks of water and toys, as well as carrying his bag down from the car for him. Aidan was not quite as gracious in return, needing some coaxing to share his motorcycle ride-on and assorted Thomas the Tank Engine paraphernalia!

The highlight for both boys (based on his friend’s report to his mother on her return, and Aidan’s day-report to Brendon when he came home), seemed to be Aidan’s alfresco nappyless poo on the ground. Both found this very interesting, but were thankfully able to resist the urge to investigate in a tactile manner, satisfying themselves with looking and commenting on the deposit.

Normal transmission resumed?

Strange technical things have been happening to this blog…. Basically I’ve been unable to publish for about 48 hours. Nothing seemed to work, but then a blog guru I know suggested I try posting from email. This seems to be working fine.

So, hopefully all is returned to normal in the world of the Floyd Files. Still, very mysterious, and definitely needs further investigation….

(Oh, and I’ve been wearing my new slippers and they have passed all necessary tests! Haven’t thrown out the old ones yet though!).

Slippers

As befits the suburban housewife, I like to wear slippers. I wear them almost all the year round. I am particularly fond of a brand that has nice comfy slippers but a sturdy sole that allows me to do the minor outside jobs that must be achieved in my busy day (check mailbox, empty compost, retrieve recycling bin, etc) without changing footwear. My last pair have just disintegrated past the point of no return. My lovely husband bought me these last Friday night. They are summer style - open at the back and open toed, and hot pink. Isabelle and Aidan have both worn them in a short circuit around the kitchen and seemed to approve. However - it does take some time for new slippers to bed in. No matter how groady and disgusting the last pair, I have to make myself throw them out and just move on! The old ones always seem so - comfortable. It is easy to overlook their faults and put the new ones in the back of the wardrobe "for best". But no, I will be strong and banish my shredded old slippers to the bin. Tomorrow.

Technical difficulties

Hey maybe this will work….

You may have noticed from my last post that something is going wrong with this blog. Hopefully normal transmission will resume shortly…

Test post

OK, here’s a test post – having technical difficulties here…

Trainspotting

Coming home on the motorway last night, I glanced over at the railyards and saw TWO steam trains! Much excitement ensued - at least from the adults in the car. Coming off the motorway, we turned left to the railway station rather than right towards home to see if we could get a better look (oh, and so the children could look too).

We couldn't see a thing from our first position down on Thorndon Quay, so we drove along looking to see if any of the fenced car parks gave a decent view of the yards. None did really, but we managed to spot the steam engines at a distance in the approaching darkness, wisps of steam or smoke appearing from time to time around them. Neither Isabelle nor Aidan saw anything.

Next, we drove up the hill to see if we could glimpse them from an aerial position. We (the adults) could just make them out - as they were black with no lights on, and it was almost dark, there really wasn't much for a young child to see.

Fortunately the children didn't seem too concerned!

50

Last night we attended a friend's 5oth birthday BBQ. This is our second 50th party, and obviously a sign of the times given that I haven't been to a 21st in years. I was trying to think of the last one I went to as I went to bed - it must have been my youngest sister's in 2001.

Funny, but I don't remember going to any 4oths - maybe those have just passed people by as the preschool years rushed along, or maybe I just know too many people in their thirties.

Labels

Aidan has been playing around with his identity labels recently. Here's one conversation we had, with me starting by playfully saying hello using a nickname.

"Hello ba!"
(very solemnly) "Not ba".
"Oh. Who are you?"
"Tom tom".
"Hello Tom tom!".
(very solemnly) "Not Tom tom".
"Oh. Who are you?"
"Ba".

Then yesterday, I called him my son.

"Not son. Daughter. Abelle daughter. Daughter too".
"OK. Are you a boy or a girl?"
"A boy. Daughter".

Glad to hear he values the feminine!

Mission #2: Isabelle

In the afternoon we had Isabelle's first ballet class. Brendon got off work early to look after Aidan. I felt that I really wanted to sit in for the entire first lesson to give Isabelle confidence without having to entertain Aidan too - and also I wanted to check out the lessons myself!

Isabelle dressed herself in my old black leotard, purple fairy skirt, pink cardy, pink fairy wings and white floppy sunhat borrowed from Playcentre. On her feet were her new ballet shoes.

We arrived in plenty of time. Another class was still on - it looked as if the students were about 6 or 7, so they would seem very advanced to Isabelle's eyes. We watched them do plies, rises, practice some dance steps for what I assume is the end-of-year show, then curtsey at the end. Then it was Isabelle's turn! We removed the cardy, hat and fairy wings and off she went to sit with her teacher and the other four girls on the studio floor.

Three doting mothers and two proud fathers watched as our little girls stretched, pointed their toes, galloped and skipped around the room. It was incredibly cute, and I must admit I even got a bit teary! But there were also some stiffled giggles from the parents' corner at the expressions on the faces and the girls' efforts to copy the teacher! It really was lovely. And best of all, Isabelle had a huge smile on her face the whole time.

They seemed to follow a set format, which involved some basic ballet moves and some acting out of a script about a fairy picnic to music. There was lots to remember, so I imagine that they will do this same thing all term.

At the end, the teacher called each girl's name. They skipped to the front to music and curtsied to the teacher to say thank you. Isabelle was the last of the five to do this, and did such a deep curtsey that she had to put a hand on the floor to steady herself! Very sweet.

So, fairy ballet seems to be a resounding success. Isabelle is looking forward to next week, and is already planning her outfit.

Mission #1: Aidan

Yesterday Aidan and I dropped Isabelle off at Playcentre and bussed into town. We had two shops, the library, the doctor and the chemist to visit - quite a mission for a small boy! Aidan behaved extremely well the whole time, aided again by a full lunch box. He did lots of walking too. We stopped at every "hole" on Lambton Quay (the holes being little construction areas surrounding pipes still being worked on following the major gas problem that hit a part of the central city recently). Sometimes there were workers in the holes! They were very tolerant of Aidan's interest in what they were up to, usually smiling and waving, or saying hello. They seemed to realise that to a small boy, like firefighters, police officers and the like they are in "fancy dress" (hard hats, orange vests). And they have exciting things like diggers, rakes and spades to play with.

Spam attack!

Ah well, I guess it was inevitable that a spam bot would deposit a comment on my blog. This one is quite cunning and invites me to just click on the interesting link below if I would like to make $$$$. Of course I haven't taken the bait! So, I will be turning on comment verification, which means that if anyone want to leave a comment (and it's cool when you do!), you will have to verify that you are a person, not a computer program, by typing in some letters that you see.

Bought some ballet slippers for Isabelle today. They are quite expensive. I also got an introduction to the "ballet world". Apparently two different styles of ballet are taught locally. Uniforms seem to be very important after this first trial stage. I saw a lovely pinky leotard thing, but apparently that is the uniform of the "other" school. I thought that maybe it was not the done thing to dress in the opposition's outfits, so Isabelle will be wearing my old leotard from when I did ballet (at least initially until we suss things out a bit more!). Oooo, wonder if I'll start meeting "ballet mothers"? :-)

Only connect

After Maternity Hospital came the disease-of-the-week documentary. The children were still wide awake and were immediately captured by the pictures of the children with Harlequin Ichthyosis, a devastating skin condition. Isabelle wanted to know what was wrong with the babies. I explained how that everyone was different, and that some people were born looking very different indeed. But they were still just little babies. The children seemed quiet as they took in the pictures of the affected children as newborns.

Then up popped a picture of a newborn Harlequin child suckling on her mother.

"Num!" said Aidan, pointing and smiling.

It was as if he had made a connection. This was a little person just like him who found comfort at their mother's breast. She was like him. He seemed visibly more relaxed now, and snuggled down into me a bit further.

Wasn't it E.M. Forster, Passage to India? Only connect. If we find something in common with another human being, they suddenly become - well, more human. Different from us, but not scarily so anymore.

Maternity hospital

Last night I was channel flicking with two small ones on my lap while Brendon fixed the mouse. I came across Maternity Hospital, a reality tv programme on Discovery channel. I usually avoid it, but kept it on at the request of the children who were very interested in the baby angle.

It was reasonably educational for them - we talked about how babies came out, umbilical cords and the like.

The things that really strike me about this programme are firstly how very medical it is. I know it is in a hospital and all, but it just goes against the grain somehow. Every woman seems to labour and give birth flat on her back so as to give the attending doctor a convenient view and a comfortable seated position. All attendants (and there always seems to be heaps) are fully robed, gowned, masked, gloved, hatted as though they are going in for a c-section. There are heaps of people in the room (however, I assume that if someone is quite happy being filmed for a tv programme, they are probably quite happy for 15 of their extended family to be present too!). Often the mothers are young - 19 and 23 last night.

Problem is, I just don't know how normal all this is, having not had "normal" births. But I suspect that it is different in New Zealand. If all had gone fine, I would have had Isabelle with just Brendon and the midwife in the room. I believe the midwife was robed to some extent as I remember Brendon telling me that she was getting togged up to give me encouragement. (I was too focused on other matters to be worried about her outfit, and besides, I had my back to her - she could have been wearing Mickey Mouse ears for all I knew). I definitely, definitely was encouraged to move around and use gravity to help get the babies out.

Another thing is the remarkable lack of noise the women make. I remember saying to Brendon the first time I watched it "Oh, she's obviously in early first stage with an epidural in". Oh no, no, no, this woman was calmly and quietly on the cusp of actually giving birth. Making lots of howls in labour seems to be my thing, and anyone who has spent any time at Wellington Hospital delivery suite could attest to that being common to many women!

But the first time I watched it, most of all I remember a woman flat on her back in bed attempting a VBAC. After a short examination, the doctor told her (not unkindly) that she had failed to progress sufficiently and that she would be having another section. She turned her head from the camera, closed her eyes and a terrible pain contorted her face. A tear ran down her cheek.

Her grief was too raw for me. I turned the tv off.

Language

Aidan's language skills are coming along in leaps and bounds now. He is experimenting with sentences and is using verbs. He often says things slowly and deliberately, as though he has thought carefully about what he is about to say. For example:

"Not big boy's pants!" (on being invited to wear undies rather than a nappy!)
"Where is Belle?"
"Nana Pam showed me" (this one was a new one today - very impressive as he used a past tense!).

He can sometimes string lots of words together in a non-grammatical, but expressive and communicative way.

My little boy is definitely getting bigger and bigger...

Dead mouse

Our mouse isn't working. It makes everything far more difficult to achieve on the computer! I tend not to memorise all the hot keys, so it is literally hit and miss.

First day back at Playcentre today. It was an indoors day, but it went really well. I think both children missed seeing their friends and playing with all the different equipment.

I have found Isabelle a ballet class - fairy ballet in Karori. First class is this Thursday. We will have to go shopping for a fairy ballet outfit beforehand - very exciting.

Divided household

Well, we watched the rugby on Friday night - Wellington (Brendon) vs Canterbuy (me). Aidan (rather diplomatically) excitedly yelled "Go rugby!" whenever the tempo of the game in the first half rose.

I didn't watch all of it though, as I ended up snoozing through most of the second half with two sleeping children draped on me - I could see a corner of the screen over Aidan's head, but I had lost interest when it became apparent that it wasn't Canterbury's night.

Other thoughts - I really think the tmo (television match official) should give the benefit of the doubt to the attacking team. And Dan Carter's hair is looking strangely good longer. He is losing that cherubic look that young Canterbury first-fives seem to specialise in (think the ageing of Andrew Mehrtens...).

Must admit that I haven't really kept up with the rugby though. I blame it on overload (and the inability to stay awake long enough with these night games!).

Hospital

Today was my first appointment with the a hospital obstetrician. I had arranged for Isabelle to play with a friend - Aidan came with me on the bus.

The wait at the hospital wasn't too bad - maybe 50 minutes, with Aidan being duly occupied by the generously packed lunch box I had prepared earlier that morning. All the other women waiting seemed to have massive bellies - I don't think anyone else was anywhere near their second trimester any more!

The doctor surprised me initially by asking whether or not I wanted a caesarean. I told him that of course I didn't want a caesarean, but that I assumed that I didn't really have any other option given my obstetric history. After reviewing my history, he said he would discuss it with his senior colleague and come back to me. He did the usual examinations and all appeared well. It's funny though, you can always tell the more junior doctors when you compare their examination techniques with more experienced midwives and obstetricians. For example, he seemed to take ages to find my fundal height!

More waiting, and back he came with the inevitable news that his senior colleague recommended an elective caesarean. Next they decided that the couldn't take my word or my midwife's word for my due date and needed the scan results from the other hospital. More waiting while they faxed the other hospital. Aidan was very well behaved, lying on the floor eating a biscuit.

Eventually a nurse came and said I could go. I would hear back in due course about a second appointment, at which I would be booked in for the birth day. Back we went on the bus. On alighting, I discovered that Aidan's hat was still on the bus...

When we went to pick up Isabelle, I found her resplendent in a pink, white and gold sari (with fairy wings), most annoyed that I had come back so soon. We bundled her out the door in time to meet the bus on its return journey back into town. Luckily the bus driver had found the hat and handed it to me as soon as he opened the door. Yay for nice bus drivers!

I am looking forward to the weekend and my bed tonight. I am still not fully recovered from the lurgy from weeks ago - or maybe this is a different bug...

Across town

Today's mission in the howling gales we are experiencing was a trip across town to meet up with someone who has just moved here from Christchurch. I had planned a mission on the bus, but one look outside this morning and I firmly shelved that plan.

This was the first time I had met this woman, and I could definitely relate to some of her early-Wellington experiences (particularly the shock at the strength of the wind, the unpalatable tap water and the difficulties of driving in a new city when you don't know which lane you should be in). I laughed with empathy when I heard about their double circumnavigation of the Basin Reserve trying to get into the correct lane!

Her husband rang from Australia on the computer while we were there. Very cool technology, but of course it wasn't working properly when there was someone else watching! We could hear him (typing and clearing his throat, which caused me mild amusement), but we weren't audible to him. I did say that she had better warn him she had guests or he might say all sorts of things meant only for a wife's ears!

Bread

Today I decided to get the bread maker out again. I used to do this every day, but stopped when I was newly pregnant. It just seemed like too much work - but most importantly, I just went off the whole idea of home made bread! The taste and smell just didn't do it for me anymore. However, just as I am now enjoying coffee again, the whole bread thing is no longer grossing me out.

I was planning to pick up some bread at the bakery in Kelburn, but couldn't face going out this afternoon in the cold, wind and rain unless I really had to. So, out came the Alison Holst breadmaking book and away I went. I decided on the 5 seed loaf, partly because I have had success with it in the past, and partly because it would use up lots of ingredients. I have heaps of yeast, flours, nuts, seeds and various breadmaking things lying around unused in the pantry. When you're making bread every day, you can afford lots of variety - when you're making it just every now and again, things start going off before you get around to using them. I only threw out one thing that looked dodgy (the lecithin), but noticed that my yeast only has a month to go until it expires. I toasted up lots of sesame seeds (in the hope this might improve their shelf life) and I'll do the sunflower seeds tomorrow.

Well, the loaf is cooling on the bench and it looks fine.

Thankfully there were no real breadmaking dramas. The most exciting thing was when the toasted sesame seeds were cooling on the table. I was in the kitchen and heard Aidan say:

"Nice, warm!".

No guessing where his hands were....think I'll make sure I use those seeds only in things that will be cooked!

Isabelle's choice

Today Isabelle suggested I blog about her art (and that I take pictures of our current display).

I like to display my children's art in our dining area. Most of this is done at Playcentre - it gets rotated around after about 8 weeks. The stuff I like the best gets saved in their art files. Other stuff gets donated, used as wrapping paper, or (ahem!) "recycled". For obvious reasons, I try and do the rotation when the children are not inside, or are in bed...

Like many things about parenting, I find my children's art fascinating, an insight into what and how they are thinking and a fine record of their development. I find other children's art...well, less interesting! However, even other children's art is more interesting once you have armed yourself with some information about children's creativity and its development, children's schema and the development of early literacy. Yay for Playcentre training!

Items of note on the walls would be as follows. In the top left photo (well, based on past experience I should say the photo that is currently top left - they seem to move around once posted...), my favourite pieces are the ones at the top. Isabelle's (on the left) is a study of her layering schema (a secondary schema she has developed over the past few months). She has layered colours one upon the other. Aidan's (on the right) is more of a cacophony of exploration of colour and movement, which probably took quite a period of concentrated effort given his age.

On the next photo, there's two more colour cacophonies which I really like from Aidan, created one week apart in July. They contrast beautifully with his piece at the top (sadly undated) of three distinct colours. Rounding out his efforts are three studies which are yellow-dominant. Yellow seems to be his favourite colour. There's a collage of Isabelle's in that photo - an interest she developed over the winter months. The hand collage was a gift to Isabelle on her birthday from a Playcentre friend.

Finally, in the photo where Aidan is reflected in the mirror (:-) ) there is a lovely early literacy "I" painted on Isabelle's two colour exploration. The green and blue piece directly under is titled "Bang! bang!", which is what Aidan said as he brought the brush to his canvas forcefully, reflecting his dominant trajectory schema.

Just a different point of reference

Readers of this blog (is there anyone out there? :-) ) may recall that Isabelle had identified a 2 and a 0 as the biggest number (see post titled "Difficult questions").

Yesterday at the supermarket, I was unloading our trolley at the check out. Isabelle said calmly "See Mummy? The biggest number". She pointed upwards. I followed her glance and saw a large "20" above the last checkout. It certainly was the biggest number - all the other numbers close to the ceiling (being the checkout numbers) were indeed smaller. And the number itself was physically very big.

So is Isabelle's concept of infinity linked to our supermarket shopping??! Our experiences have to shape our understanding of reality and the abstract ideas that flow from that. This is of course why we try to enrich our children's days with different things to see, do, taste, touch, hear, smell and think about. I always think that the everyday might just be what teaches children the most - a walk down the road to post a letter might be just as educational as a day at the zoo. Hence too my related belief that "quality time" can only flow from quantity time.

So, infinity at the supermarket? Well, I'm not 100% sure about that, but the amount we spend on groceries certainly seems to be in an ever-increasing upward spiral...

The cat is smarter than I am

I needed to wash my hands before making the fruit salad for tonight's dessert. I would usually do this in the wash house, which is next to the kitchen. However, a few minutes prior to this, the cat had been scratching at the wash house door, wanting to come in. I didn't want her in, as Aidan had fallen asleep on the chair while reading one of his favourite books. I knew that the cat would attempt enthusiastic licking of him upon her entry, thus prematurely waking the small boy.

Aha! I thought - I'll use the bathroom instead. Of course, as soon as I opened the bathroom door, there was a flash of fur as the cat ran out from her hidey hole....

Foiled! Outwitted by a feline!

p.s.: Fortunately the cat's desired destination was our bed, which in this circumstance I allowed...