Nothing particular to say

But I feel obliged in that blogging kind of way to post something every once in a while whether or not I have anything to share. So today's gem of excitement is that things are normal here, with no one ill (which is good) and lots of stuff to do (including writing a newsletter for school about waterproof, fleece-lined jackets - a prospect so exciting that I have resorted to writing in my blog when I have nothing to say!).

Did some tie-dyeing with Alex's nursery on
Thursday last week - here's a sample - this was a shibori piece, tied around a piece of PVC pipe. This one almost didn't make it back to nursery, as it came out really really well :) Must try that technique again - I've done it in the past with mixed results, but this one really worked, so there's hope yet. They had lots of fun and were really well behaved - it wasn't at all messy, which I thought it might be, but I guess they are so little that they are better at sitting still and not touching things when told not to, than, say, 8 year olds.

I will survive

Actually, the half term holiday hasn't been too bad - only a few fights and spats. This has been accomplished by a combination of keeping them quite busy and major incentivisation and threats - Sarah had a friend over last night for a sleepover (as always, the wisdom of using the term "sleep" is debatable) so that was a big incentive to behave well early in the week.

Tuesday we went to the Tropical Forest at Syon Park (used to be called Aquatic Experience), which has animals - mostly reptiles, amphibians & fish but also birds and some mammals in tanks and display cages - that part is interesting, but not terribly exciting, but they do a really good encounter session which lasts about an hour and you get to see lots of different animals - the kids really enjoyed that. There are some photos from that in my album. We had won a free family ticket to that attraction at the school fair and we took a picnic, so it was a nice day out for very little money, which is always the problem with the February half term - it's usually too cold to do much outside, which means it can get really expensive to go places.

Wednesday Alex went to Carousel (his nursery) all day and I took the girls up to the museums (Natural History Museum this time). We skipped the dinosaurs, since Dinosaur Boy wasn't with us and looked at the mammals (including the blue whale model, which was suitably impressive, even for my easily bored 8-year old) and the creepy crawlies. We then had some lunch (they have a picnic area in the basement - more museums should do this) and looked at the earth galleries, including the one with all the cystals and gemstones in it, which they loved, and the room that simulates an earthquake. We then caught a bus to Oxford Street, visited the Food Hall in Selfridges and got some deli stuff for dinner, caught another bus to Daddy's office (their favourite part, I think) and all came home together - a good, but tiring, day.

Murphy's Law of Sleeping In

Annoying, but not surprisingly, the toddler who has to be dragged out of bed on the last morning of school before the half term holiday is the same one bouncing in to one's room at just past 7am on the first day of the holidays - so much for sleeping in! He was so tired last night, I'm surprised he was up quite so early - yesterday he not only had an hour in the swimming ("fimming") pool in the morning, but then he went to a party in the late afternoon and spent an hour running all about an adventure playground place called "Merlin's Magic Castle" - I thought he'd be out until at least 8 (which for me, is sleeping in!)

Today, later, we are off to spend some pocket money and get haircuts, no doubt with a stop for lunch in their favourite place (the "M" word) - not my favourite of course, but we only get there a handful of times a year, so I guess it's not really that bad.

Now we are three

Happy birthday, birthday boy!

The cat is actually not a birthday present, but he's very fond of it - it moves and makes noises, but luckily, the novelty of that wore off after a day or two and he only presses the button once in a while.

Had a nice little party today with about 8 friends (and some siblings), played some games, ate some snacks, got all the toys in the entire house out - the usual. He's been looking forward to his presents ("peasants") for a couple of days now, so he was delighted to have people keep showing up at the door with gifts.

Hard to believe he's 3 - seems like yesterday - but there it is, I must be getting old...

Houston, we have sausages...

Geoff got a sausage making kit for Christmas, after hankering after home-made sausages like his mate David always brags about having... Anyway, we finally put it to good use last weekend, trying out some Toulouse type sausages (no filler in them - all meat & spices) which came out very well. Not only do they look like "real" sausages, but they tasted nice, too. Next time, we will try something like a more traditional English sausage with some rusk in, maybe some herbs - they will have a different kind of texture, but hopefully still be as yummy, in their own way.