The princess and the dragon

I was trying to keep the kids from getting distracted during dinner so I decided to do a controlled distraction game. I started a story and we each took turns adding a sentence. This is the tale we wove.

A long time ago there was a castle by the sea. A princess lived in the castle. There was a dragon that wanted to eat the princess. She decided to bake him a cake. She put two cherries on top. The dragon nearly bited her hands off. The princess said,"You naughty naughty dragon. You nearly bited my hands off. You should be ashamed!" The dragon bit her teeth out. The dragon bit her head off. The head rolled down the hill. The dragon held her hand. Then the dragon bit her hands off. (daddy enters a bit late and adds the next line..) "Ew!', said the dragon, "That tastes of spaghetti. I hate spaghetti! Perhaps I will see if her knobbly knees taste nicer." And the dragon said, "It tastes like bubblegum!" The dragon bit her eyes and brain out. In all of the excitement the dragon bit his own head off. A seagull landed on the dragon stump. And the headless princess went on the back of the headless dragon and they flied. Then she got two hearts and she grew a new head. And the dragon got two hearts and grew a new head. And a prince married the princess and then they lived happily ever after.

The End!

Feast Day 2010

Each year in June the local village has a Feast Day. This year the play group that I am on the committee of got together and thought up games and decorated the stall that was designed by one of the mums (a very artistic and groovy lady). We won the best junior stall! Hooray.

Kalila and I walked in the parade. Well, I walked. Kalila was feeling unwell so she mostly hitched a ride on me. We were deep sea divers...

Tosha in wonderland...

One rainy Saturday when we could stand it no longer, after we missed Avatar on the big screen, we decided NOT to miss Alice in Wonderland. The children know of my great fondness for all things Depped. We easily persuaded to watch it with the lure of popcorn and sweets. Plus they had been having the story read to them by Nik on his interactive Ipad doomajiggy. It's crazy good fun. So we went along and picked up our 3D glasses (which we had to pay for-uh?) and settled down to watch the movie (after we got coffees to bring in and we didn't even smuggle them). Very very very soon into the film, Kalila wanted to go home. I knew she'd love some bits like this one...The Futterwhack (their favourite)


and this one (with Digi's fave cat appearing)


There were quite a few scary moments that I hadn't anticipated but I promised Kalila some Ocean in My Pocket and we were good to go for the rest of the film. Oh what a good mother I am. Bribing my child to get my Depp fix. We finished the film on a high and everyone was happy. I was slightly distracted by a Kalila and some not so nice 3D glasses over the top of my own specs. So, imagine my delight and pleasure when, on the morning of Kalila's big birthday party, I picked up the post to discover my very own Alice in Wonderland DVD. All for me. A surprise! (Thank you think parents)I gave it a quick hug, smiled, and tucked it safely away until after the party.

I've not watched all the extras but there is so much more for those interested in behind the scenes etc. Such as how the cakes were made..http://www.totaleclips.com/player/Splash.aspx?custid=1064&clipid=e67379&playerid=69&affiliateid=-1&bitrateid=378&formatid=10#

And yes I only buy blu-ray now because they contain so much more than just a DVD, although mostly all come with DVD versions too. And they look so much better on our DVD shelf.

Nik wants me to admire his wardrobe destruction. Commence operation bedroom revamp.

Par lay voo fron say?

Thought I'd just copy my facebook status here:

Nik has booked us a cute little Brittany family holiday!! This is Nik. Nik who does not book and organize things. Nik did it! Niklas J! Woah, I am stunned and happy. Happy and happy. Happy, happy, and holey shmoley happy. I could kiss you (but I won't because you didn't book it. Guess that Nik deserves a kiss).

Gites self-catering holiday accomodation near Benodet & beaches, Brittany
www.kergarec.com

I better get to learning some French. I think I have a CD around here somewhere.I could always just listen to this song over and over:

Everybody's Free to Wear Sunscreen..

...Baz Luhrmann once said

Ladies and Gentlemen of the class of ’99
If I could offer you only one tip for the future, sunscreen would be
it. The long term benefits of sunscreen have been proved by
scientists whereas the rest of my advice has no basis more reliable
than my own meandering
experience…I will dispense this advice now. Enjoy the power and beauty of your youth; oh nevermind; you will not
understand the power and beauty of your youth until they have faded.
But trust me, in 20 years you’ll look back at photos of yourself and
recall in a way you can’t grasp now how much possibility lay before
you and how fabulous you really looked….You’re not as fat as you
imagine. Don’t worry about the future; or worry, but know that worrying is as
effective as trying to solve an algebra equation by chewing
bubblegum. The real troubles in your life are apt to be things that
never crossed your worried mind; the kind that blindside you at 4pm
on some idle Tuesday. Do one thing everyday that scares you Sing Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts, don’t put up with
people who are reckless with yours. Floss Don’t waste your time on jealousy; sometimes you’re ahead, sometimes
you’re behind…the race is long, and in the end, it’s only with
yourself. Remember the compliments you receive, forget the insults; if you
succeed in doing this, tell me how. Keep your old love letters, throw away your old bank statements. Stretch Don’t feel guilty if you don’t know what you want to do with your
life…the most interesting people I know didn’t know at 22 what they
wanted to do with their lives, some of the most interesting 40 year
olds I know still don’t. Get plenty of calcium. Be kind to your knees, you’ll miss them when they’re gone. Maybe you’ll marry, maybe you won’t, maybe you’ll have children,maybe
you won’t, maybe you’ll divorce at 40, maybe you’ll dance the funky
chicken on your 75th wedding anniversary…what ever you do, don’t
congratulate yourself too much or berate yourself either – your
choices are half chance, so are everybody else’s. Enjoy your body,
use it every way you can…don’t be afraid of it, or what other people
think of it, it’s the greatest instrument you’ll ever
own.. Dance…even if you have nowhere to do it but in your own living room. Read the directions, even if you don’t follow them. Do NOT read beauty magazines, they will only make you feel ugly. Get to know your parents, you never know when they’ll be gone for
good. Be nice to your siblings; they are the best link to your past and the
people most likely to stick with you in the future. Understand that friends come and go,but for the precious few you
should hold on. Work hard to bridge the gaps in geography and
lifestyle because the older you get, the more you need the people you
knew when you were young. Live in New York City once, but leave before it makes you hard; live
in Northern California once, but leave before it makes you soft. Travel. Accept certain inalienable truths, prices will rise, politicians will
philander, you too will get old, and when you do you’ll fantasize
that when you were young prices were reasonable, politicians were
noble and children respected their elders. Respect your elders. Don’t expect anyone else to support you. Maybe you have a trust fund,
maybe you have a wealthy spouse; but you never know when either one
might run out. Don’t mess too much with your hair, or by the time you're 40, it will
look 85. Be careful whose advice you buy, but, be patient with those who
supply it. Advice is a form of nostalgia, dispensing it is a way of
fishing the past from the disposal, wiping it off, painting over the
ugly parts and recycling it for more than
it’s worth. But trust me on the sunscreen…

Seriously, trust him on the sunscreen. I too often forget to put it on myself but I'm trying. Just last week I was out helping a friend garden and I put it on my front but not my back. This is a photo about a week later..ouch! (well there would be a photo of blogger was working properly). Anyhow, I am getting much better and I intend to buy some face cream with built in sunscreen tonight just right after I finish multitasking. Just like all mums, I forget myself sometimes but I am hyper diligent about the kids having sunscreen. Every single morning I apply it to their faces and arms etc before school and Digi has his own bottle at school (their suggestion for all children which I highly agree with). I think all children, no matter what skin type, should have some sort of protection, even if it's SPF 15. I use SPF 50 on my two porcelain doll children. It's so ingrained it's what we do that Digi will remind me if I ever forget. He is like that, very aware of doing what is right (although he still likes to investigate, or BREAK and disassemble things he shouldn't. Little science boy junior).There is a point to some of this.
I jumped at the chance recently to review Wilkinson's new range of skin protection.
They sent us an SPF 25 spray, an SPF 50 kids purple tinted lotion, and some after sun. Here's what I think, wait, before I get on to that let me just say that sun cream is FAR FAR FAR too costly. You can spend up to and over £15 per bottle on some creams. This is Insania (and yes I did just quote Peter Andre). Sun cream should be affordable and I will say at under £3 a bottle the Wilko's range is completely affordable. I like that.

What I didn't like:

The spray. I don't like spray sun protection period. It's time consuming and it doesn't squirt out enough. You will miss bits and it gets everywhere when you spray. Why do people make it? I guess it's that age old reason, "if you make it, they will buy it."

The ghostly purple colour of the SPF 50 children's lotion. It's great if you have a small baby and really have a hard time seeing where you've put the cream but not so good if you don't want your children to look permanently seasick and luminescent. Nik had it on one day and I asked him what was wrong with his skin as it was glowing and not in a healthy sort of way. Really parents should be able to apply sunscreen without the added colours. It's not that difficult and the colour really doesn't make it any more fun or attractive. It is what it is and the sooner kids accept it the better. God, I sound like an evil witch eh:-)

I also didn't like the amounts that came out. The SPF 25 spray was too spitty. Stick with the creams although be warned you do get a very VERY generous amount so only light pressure is needed. This may sound picky (but it is a review after all).

What I did like:

The price. Go Wilkinsons. Value for money. Generous size. Ace.

The after sun! I admit that I am 33 years old and have never paid any attention to after sun. I read a bit online about what is so special about this compared to regular creams and now understand. I think i'll keep our bottle in the fridge this summer and hopefully we won't have to use it often.

There are so many ranges but don't be fooled. More expensive is definitely not better. Oh and this is totally off subject but you know me. I am off subject and random. Kalila wiped her bum by herself today. We've been building up to it and I've been telling her for months she should try it and then we settled on her doing it when she turned four, just like Digi. That's fair enough, I thought. No point in pushing her. I tested the waters last week, before she had her party. "Kalila, do you want to try wiping your bottom?" "NO! I am not FOUR yet!"
This morning while Nik and I dozed, the day after her 4th birthday party, we heard a mighty yowl of, "I've had a poooooooo and I need some kandooooo wipes (wet flushable toilet wipes for kids)." Nice big bro Digi jumped off our bed and got her some. She came into our room a few minutes later so nonchalantly got back in our bed. I asked if she had a clean bottom and she said , "Yes." I asked if she washed her hands and she said, "Yes, between the fingers too." Nik asked if she flushed the toilet and she said, "Yes. and it was a messy one too." Well! Nik said, "That's blog worthy." Yes indeed. Nothing like having my child's first self bum wiping session documented for all of the internet to read. The teenage years are going to be so so so fun.

(if I can keep this blogging lark up. I WILL blog more.)

Just stuff

No matter how many times I clean Digi's room, I can be assured by the end of the next day it will look like the exorcist has visited. His wardrobe seems to spew forth clothes onto the floor. His books hurl themselves off his shelf. His window blind goes up and down. There are random papers and train tickets and drawings stuck to his walls. He likes it that way. I won't mess with his wall decorations but I do like to be able to walk in there. He doesn't mind. He likes stuff. He likes to surround himself with stuff. He likes to pack stuff away in various bags and take the bags to bed where he has stuff at all times. One day he will be a collector of stuff and his stuff will feature in some World's Largest Collection of Stuff museum. For now I merely manage the stuff. It's tough work.

Kalila likes neat. She tidies her things, fairy dust, pigs, pink things, nail varnish, lip gloss, jewelry, you know, girl stuff. She makes beds for her fairies while she talks to an imaginary Troy and Gabriella from High School Musical. Last night she came in after Nik put her to bed and announced she was tidying her room. He went to see and her idea of tidying was taking all the soft toys out of her room and lining them in the hallway.

The cats have now chosen sides. Twice a week I put their laundry away and I always find the same scenario. Amongst the stuff, I find Mono cat. Amongst the pink fairy girly things, I find Bam. We've always assumed Bam was a lover of pink and he tends to catch mice for the other team if you know what I'm saying. I'm proud to own a gay cat. There, I said it.

The cats are similar to the kids in more ways than one. Our kids don't shit in other people's gardens that I know of but they do keep us awake sometimes at night-just like the cats and they tend to request food and attention just as frequently.
Mono is very loyal to mainly me and she doesn't seek a lot of attention from others. Digi is the same. He has a close group of friends and doesn't stray. He is not the life and soul of any party. He doesn't want to stand out much. He's happy exploring and doing what makes him happy. He's intelligent and very sensitive.
Bam is wherever people are. He will happily go to anyone and everyone. He will happily come downstairs and purr loudly when there are 30 tipsy women in my kitchen. He likes a fuss and he likes to be admired and appreciated and cuddled and fed. Kalila is a Bam. She is not very shy and will chat your ear off if given half a chance. I've heard from a few friends who have had Kalila briefly that she chats nonstop. She will also dance and sing for you, give you a back rub, fix your hair, and tell you if your breath smells. She has been known to blame her farts on other people! Bam soo does that.
Both of them can be the exact opposite in certain circumstances. Digi tends to be quite silly and dances and sings when it's just us and Kalila can be very quiet and sensitive if she is unsure of the situation.

Am I comparing my children to cats in a blog? Surely it's time to go to bed.