Mud glorious mud!
Apr. 20th, 2010 09:40 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ailbheOn Friday we went to the mini zoo at the playground, and met up with friends. We saw ferrets and rabbits and ducks and ducklings and chicks and a tarantula and a snake. Both children had their faces painted.
It was my first crutches-driven outing further than the local shops. And because I met a friend I was also able to crutch-hop into town, and we went for coffee - on which more later - and then she went her way and the children and I went to buy shoes.
Both children measure one number, and have shoes in a totally different number. I think we may need to stop using measures at all, boo hiss. But after many pairs - including the very pleasant fitter saying "Would you like me to bring up another couple of pairs or are you losing the will to live?" - we found sandals for Linnea and canvas shoes for Emer. They didn't have any sandals which fit Emer. They had lots in the size she measured at, but none of them fit.
I was pleased with the fitter - it was a man (who said he was 29 in the course of our conversation). He understood what I wanted when I said "Play sandals, for climbing trees, not party sandals for wearing with dresses." I was also able to show him a pair of sandals Linnea had for six weeks when she was two, because Emer was wearing them, so he was able to see the degree of damage a beautiful feminine finish gets when you play in it hard. And it helped that Emer wanted blue shoes and sandals, because that meant he looked in the boy section. Linnea wanted pink, and got white with pink trim and light-up heels, and they are going to look terrible very soon but they were ALSO the only pair in the shop which fit her toes, heels, ankles and instep at the same time, in spite of her feet having narrowed to a G width now.
There was a brief discussion when he said "I looked in the boys section but they all had diggers and trucks on them," and I said "She likes diggers and trucks, no-one has told her not to yet," and he said "They're just more interesting than unicorns and fairies, aren't they?" and I said "Yes, you have been told that since you were about two," and he said "But I'm 29 now and I still think so," and I shut up but I gave him a LOOK. I think he might think about it.
Rob met us in the shop and took me to buy painkillers on the way home. And he triked the children home and I got a taxi. But it was totally worth it because now the children have actual shoes which fit the feet they are actually walking on.
After that we ate and then we dug garden and shoveled turf and things. I don't clearly remember the details.
We spent Saturday desperately digging and levelling the lawn and getting sunburned, but we got it done and the turf down and Rob went to Argos and bought a sprinkler-head for the hose and we watered the turf as per instructions. And Rob bought a ton of groceries to start The Big Cook.
On Sunday we went to meeting and I was well enough to sit in for 15 minutes, which was wonderful, and then we bought shorts for Linnea to wear under dresses and "disposable" foil trays to make our own ready-meals, and some lunchboxes because the children have outgrown the little ones we used before. Then we came home and the children ate a picnic lunch while we shoveled topsoil into carrier bags and sacks.
Later, Rob cooked vegetarian dairy-free lasagne for eight people and froze it in three "disposable" foil trays.
On Monday I started cleaning the house and also screamed madly at the children a lot. Eventually Linnea and I descended into violence, which was no fun for anyone, and I barely hung on to my temper enough to apologise as soon as I sank to the level of a cranky five-year-old. Well, almost; she laughed while hurting me, and I definitely was not laughing in any way at all. Still, after all that we went to...
Her first swimming lesson for ages. The last set of lessons she was basically advanced up through the levels for her age until she was the only person in her class, at which point boredom set in in a very big way. This time, there was even one child who could swim faster than she can, which is pretty rare among the friends with whom she swims, and the teacher said she did actually follow instructions sometimes.
After that we came home, shoveled more dirt into bags, gave them to a Freecycler, and then Rob cooked tons of curry and went out gaming and we stayed at home with Lucy and survived the evening.
And today, Linnea slept until noon - I think she was slightly ill - and I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen, which was serious work, and then a friend came over and the children all four played together in a screamy whiny bossing each other and then deliberately winding people up to make them cry way, which, yeah, well, there you go. And another ten bags of topsoil left the garden.
The end is in sight. So are the kitchen counters. Wow.
It was my first crutches-driven outing further than the local shops. And because I met a friend I was also able to crutch-hop into town, and we went for coffee - on which more later - and then she went her way and the children and I went to buy shoes.
Both children measure one number, and have shoes in a totally different number. I think we may need to stop using measures at all, boo hiss. But after many pairs - including the very pleasant fitter saying "Would you like me to bring up another couple of pairs or are you losing the will to live?" - we found sandals for Linnea and canvas shoes for Emer. They didn't have any sandals which fit Emer. They had lots in the size she measured at, but none of them fit.
I was pleased with the fitter - it was a man (who said he was 29 in the course of our conversation). He understood what I wanted when I said "Play sandals, for climbing trees, not party sandals for wearing with dresses." I was also able to show him a pair of sandals Linnea had for six weeks when she was two, because Emer was wearing them, so he was able to see the degree of damage a beautiful feminine finish gets when you play in it hard. And it helped that Emer wanted blue shoes and sandals, because that meant he looked in the boy section. Linnea wanted pink, and got white with pink trim and light-up heels, and they are going to look terrible very soon but they were ALSO the only pair in the shop which fit her toes, heels, ankles and instep at the same time, in spite of her feet having narrowed to a G width now.
There was a brief discussion when he said "I looked in the boys section but they all had diggers and trucks on them," and I said "She likes diggers and trucks, no-one has told her not to yet," and he said "They're just more interesting than unicorns and fairies, aren't they?" and I said "Yes, you have been told that since you were about two," and he said "But I'm 29 now and I still think so," and I shut up but I gave him a LOOK. I think he might think about it.
Rob met us in the shop and took me to buy painkillers on the way home. And he triked the children home and I got a taxi. But it was totally worth it because now the children have actual shoes which fit the feet they are actually walking on.
After that we ate and then we dug garden and shoveled turf and things. I don't clearly remember the details.
We spent Saturday desperately digging and levelling the lawn and getting sunburned, but we got it done and the turf down and Rob went to Argos and bought a sprinkler-head for the hose and we watered the turf as per instructions. And Rob bought a ton of groceries to start The Big Cook.
On Sunday we went to meeting and I was well enough to sit in for 15 minutes, which was wonderful, and then we bought shorts for Linnea to wear under dresses and "disposable" foil trays to make our own ready-meals, and some lunchboxes because the children have outgrown the little ones we used before. Then we came home and the children ate a picnic lunch while we shoveled topsoil into carrier bags and sacks.
Later, Rob cooked vegetarian dairy-free lasagne for eight people and froze it in three "disposable" foil trays.
On Monday I started cleaning the house and also screamed madly at the children a lot. Eventually Linnea and I descended into violence, which was no fun for anyone, and I barely hung on to my temper enough to apologise as soon as I sank to the level of a cranky five-year-old. Well, almost; she laughed while hurting me, and I definitely was not laughing in any way at all. Still, after all that we went to...
Her first swimming lesson for ages. The last set of lessons she was basically advanced up through the levels for her age until she was the only person in her class, at which point boredom set in in a very big way. This time, there was even one child who could swim faster than she can, which is pretty rare among the friends with whom she swims, and the teacher said she did actually follow instructions sometimes.
After that we came home, shoveled more dirt into bags, gave them to a Freecycler, and then Rob cooked tons of curry and went out gaming and we stayed at home with Lucy and survived the evening.
And today, Linnea slept until noon - I think she was slightly ill - and I cleaned the bathroom and the kitchen, which was serious work, and then a friend came over and the children all four played together in a screamy whiny bossing each other and then deliberately winding people up to make them cry way, which, yeah, well, there you go. And another ten bags of topsoil left the garden.
The end is in sight. So are the kitchen counters. Wow.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-21 12:09 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-22 06:28 pm (UTC)Shoes!
Date: 2010-04-20 09:22 pm (UTC)But we actually had a great success, and managed to find another pair of shoes that fit her long skinny feet. She has had the same style for the last 5 terms, so she was very pleased to have something different!
Hope L enjoyed the swimming lesson - sounds better than last time. For the first time in about 8 years we have no swimming lessons on a Monday evening. 2 big ones on Saturday morning, 2 little ones on Tuesday evening. L will probably catch Buttercup up; she seems to be forgetting how to swim!
Alison
Re: Shoes!
Date: 2010-04-20 09:26 pm (UTC)Monday afternoon is a great time for a lesson, it turns out, because it gets us out of the post-weekend house before I kill anyone. E's lessons are on a Friday morning. But she has a big advantage over L in that she can't actually swim, which makes pre-swimmers lessons much less boring.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-21 11:12 am (UTC)This is all after her spending an entire year counting down until she was old enough to have lessons, like Kate does.
I'm not proud of my bribery, but it did work & she'd even forgotten at the end, but I bought her a doll bath with a shower attachment that sprays water in the sale as I thought it looked like fun. It'll be great for outside too now that Spring finally seems to have possibly arrived.
She's in her 2nd block of 10 lessons, but was disappointed to still be in the level 1 class as Kate moved up to level 2. Kate was 6 1/2 though when she started & could all ready do doggy paddle without floats. Holly was just under 5 when she started & not able to bob around without armbands, plus she only went to less than half of the lessons.
She's now doing fab & can jump in over her height & swim a width on her front or back without a float.
Kate's done her 50 metre badge, but her best friend, who started lessons at 4 (so has been swimming for nearly 4 years) did her 1500 metre one a few weeks ago! Amazing really, as she's 8 next month & isn't particularly sporty.
Kate's class only has 4 children in & she's the youngest, her previous one had 10.
(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-21 11:15 am (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2010-04-21 01:55 pm (UTC)When we moved here, I was excited to carry on, but the sessions were only for under 2's & Kate was 3. They said I couldn't take Kate with me for Holly to attend :(
Holly usually does things quicker than Kate, as I feel that a younger sibling can do this if they always try & copy the older one (like Holly does with Kate) She doesn't appreciate that Kate was 18 months older than her when Kate started & was getting frustrated.