We plough the fields and scatter...

It’s Harvest Festival week at Boy #1’s nursery, and all parents were asked to bring in a box with suitable tins, fruit, veg etc. To add to the general excitement it was suggested that the children should decorate them, and that the best will win a prize. Full of team spirit, we duly collected leaves in the park after school and last night Boy #1 and I indulged in an orgy of cutting and sticking whilst he decorated a (large) shoe box in a seasonal styley. I then filled it with what I thought was appropriate fare (a couple of tins of soup, some biscuits, a home-made jar of redcurrant jelly – home-made but not by me, Mother at Large - some dried fruit etc).

Oh, how little I knew…

Arrived at the school to drop Boy #1 off this morning and we had to fight our way through the entrance hall; it had suddenly become home to acres of beautifully cellophane-wrapped wicker hampers, boxes, cartons and (I kid you not) one pink enamel rustic style bucket, filled with the best that Fortnums, Harrods, Selfridges and Harvey Nicks could offer. Suddenly our Waitrose goods looked a little cheap… Whilst his teacher valiantly rose to the occasion and pointed out that Boy #1 was one of the few kids who had actually risen to the challenge of decorating their own harvest gift, must admit that if I were one of the ‘needy’ recipients I know which I would prefer. Am simply not sure that a foliage decorated shoebox can cut it compared with some of the grander offerings available.

Tomorrow we are getting a piano delivered. Because we don’t have enough stuff ‘inherited’ from Husband’s family, apparently. On the plus side it has meant that we’ve had to reorganise a bit; he has had to admit that various family items he was insisting on displaying now need to go into storage (ugly green glass jar, ugly copper kettle, ugly copper pot – is there a theme running through this?), so that’s something. On the minus side, I see years of scales, arpeggios and 3 blind mice stretching off into the distance. Mind you, compared to my childhood spent scraping away on the violin, no doubt utter bliss…


Potty training...

Monday 18th September 2006

Went to a friends’ house this morning and Boy #1 proceeded to christen their new carpet (so potty training not yet complete, obviously), just as Boy #2 hurled himself down a step in an effort not to be left out of playing with the big kids. He now has a lovely egg on his forehead – am expecting social services to knock on the door any time.

Tuesday 19th September 2006

It’s party season; Boy #1 was invited to smart birthday party and whilst I was panicking about a repeat of the weeing on the carpet incident from the previous day, horrors, Boy #2 threw up all over their sofa. They were of course very polite about it but can imagine the comments after we left. Will probably never be invited out in polite society again.