stroppycow - @ 20six.co.uk

We decided not to go for the Shane McGowan look after all

You'd think a 10 year old would know to duck when a blunt object comes towards them at speed. Apparently not.

So if you take a week-end nice enough for a barbecue in The Boy's Father's garden, add a swing and 10 year old wanting to untangle it from the tree and stir you might get the following result.

BEFORE

One emergency appointment at the dental surgery at the hospital + two visits to the dentist later - one to check the damage and redo the temporary work the hospital did which lasted less than a day and the other to rebuild the tooth with composites - (way to use up a day of already dwindling annual leave - but I'm not bitter) and you get this.

AFTER

The Boy is happy with the result, less so with having to chop his apples to preserve the dentist's hard work.

1.5.08 21:57

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Easel side manner

"Did you do anything interesting at school today?"
"We did portraits?"
"You studied how artists draw people ?"
"No. We drew the person next to us"
"Do you want me to pose for for practice?"
"No, you'd be too hard to draw."
"I promise I wouldn't fidget"
"I guess I could, but I'd have to do loads of marks on the paper because your face is full of dents and crevices"
*holds back*
"It's because you are old Mummy"
Have kids they said, have kids...

7.5.08 20:57

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BBQ FTW

The sun is paying a visit and as a form of worship, a barbecue has been purchased and the last couple of evening meals have been cooked on the balcony.

MFC has let loose his inner caveman although disappointingly he didn't grunt "man make fire" when he collected the ingredients from the kitchen. Maybe it's because we have only had burgers and sausages so far and not entered the "meat on a bone" territory of ribs, wings and legs yet.

The Boy is proving quite adept at picking vegetables suitable for grilling and he is honing his skewering skills.

I wonder which will run out first, the mild evenings or the menu and kebab ideas.

9.5.08 21:56

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How do you make a little towny happy?

It's easy. You take them somewhere where there are animal he can get close to, it's even better if he can pet them or if the animals are of the "cool" variety.

The Nature Day at the Ebbisham Centre in Epsom ticked all the boxes.

Short train ride and no worries about having to drive and park there: tick

some animal to pet (pigs, donkeys, ponies and chicken): tick

some "cool" animals (you don't get much cooler than owls): tick

some cute furry creatures (ferrets) to remind him that I have said yes to pet rats at some point in the not too distant future: tick (darnit)

Then the best bit is that you can remind your little towny that living on a farm in the middle of nowhere has its disadvantages by taking them out to lunch for pad thai .

10.5.08 21:36

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Seriously

Not so dear chap who parks under our bedroom window,

When you come home late at night and you take an age to park your car and slam the door we would appreciate it if you only did it once.

Your car was within the lines the first time. Honest. You really didn't need to:
walk around,
check the alignment with the other cars,
struggle back into the driver's seat then
start the car again,
rev it a bit,
manoeuvre it back into the exact same spot,
struggle out,
slam the door shut, hard,
lock the vehicle and
As they say on bottles of shampoo, rinse and repeat steps 1. to 9. not once, not twice but 6 times only to have the car in the exact same position as you started.

I guess you didn't hear MFC shouting "just go to bed!" at you since you gave us another display of your lack of sense of knowing when to quit after that.

I couldn't work out if it was some bizzare form of alzheimers which made you forget you had parked the car already or if you had had a bit too much to drink.

If it's the former, maybe some relative of yours might suggest you shouldn't be driving anyway and take the keys from you.

If it's the later, same thing. You've been on the planet long enough to know drinking + driving = not the brightest of ideas, and I don't care that there is hardly anybody on the road at the time of night you did it.

Now if you'll excuse my ranting, I'm not much of one for getting up in the morning as it is. I'm even less fun if my sleep is disrupted for no good reason.

Yours grouchingly
Strops

14.5.08 11:09

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Setting the scene: Stroppycow, Her Favourite Canuck and The boys are at the cinema (11th Birthday treat for The Boy, complete with ice cream sunday).
The credits to Iron Man are rolling and they are staying put as other viewers make their way out because Strops has it on good authority that there's something after the credits.
As the last group of people exit and the credits seem to go on forever (how many drivers do the cast ans crew need for crying out loud?) doubt set in.
"maybe there's nothing at the end after all"
"maybe there is, only it's not extra footage at all, maybe we are being rickrolled"

14.5.08 22:29

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Teenage morphing mystery explained

Strops: "You wouldn't recognise him, he has grown so much and he has floppy hair and he is turning into a teenager"

Kate: "It's a bit like the tooth fairy in reverse, instead of collecting teeth the fairy comes to your previously lovely child's bedroom at night and slaps that face on them, the Kevin face "

Thankfully there are still some ways of wiping the teenage face off and recovering the excitable little boy for a bit. Most of them involve spending time outdoors or expanding energy or animals. Since the birthday treat combined all 3 we knew we were on a winner from the start (a big belated thanks to Nigel for the address). Bonus point for added awww factor in the shape of a brand new baby animal.

26.5.08 21:47

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HENRI'S WORLD