Monday, April 26, 1999
Easter & Visitors From New Zealand
At the beginning of April we had two young Kiwi girls staying with us. It was the first time they’d been to France, so I really mothered them and loved showing them around. It was good for me to see Paris through the eyes of a tourist again, as I had been getting a bit blasé about the city, and usually hate the crowds, the métro and having to stand in line for things. But Lillie and Joy kept saying “Wow, we’re really in France! This is real French bread!”, etc. It was funny to be around teenagers again, they said everything was cool and neat!
We had a great Easter at P.'s parents' place: my mother-in-law did all the cooking and I had a good rest. The Easter Bunny left loads of treats labelled 'Kevin' and 'Pauline' in the garden, strangely nothing was addressed to me! Isn't there some kind of Fairness Tribunal I could complain to?
Here’s a little joke you may enjoy:
Truths About Parenting
A baby usually wakes up in the wee-wee hours of the morning.
A child will not spill on a dirty floor.
A young child is a noise with dirt on it.
A youth becomes a man when the marks he wants to leave on the world have nothing to do with tires.
An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
Be nice to your kids, for it is they who will choose your nursing home.
Familiarity breeds children.
God invented mothers because he couldn't be everywhere at once.
God invented guilt so mothers could be everywhere at once.
Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain.
Having children will turn you into your parents.
If you have trouble getting your children's attention, just sit down and look comfortable.
Ill-bred children always display their pest manners.
Insanity is inherited; you get it from your kids.
Money isn't everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch.
Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.
You can learn many things from children... like how much patience you have.
The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.
There are three ways to get things done:
1) do it yourself
2) hire someone to do it
3) forbid your kids to do it.
There would be fewer problems with children if they had to chop wood to keep the television set going.
Those who say they "sleep like a baby" haven't got one.
The best thing to spend on your children is time.
I've been really busy this past week helping my neighbours who have just moved to Brittany. I looked after the children, shifted heavy boxes, fed the whole family and cleaned the empty house. Kevin and Pauline are sad to have lost their playmates. This is the neighbour who used to take Kevin to and from school for me, and so it's a big change now that I have to do it myself four times a day, every day except Wednesday. I like to walk there, it's only 20 minutes, but it's quite far for the shorter legs in the family, and the kids love taking the school bus, so we compromise and do half and half.
Next Monday Brendan and Liz from New Zealand are arriving in Paris, so I'll take the day off and meet them at the airport, then do the tourist thing again. I might lock the children in the basement for a few days so I can go and have some adult fun in Paris! I'm baking chocolate volcano pies and other delights in preparation for their visit, fancy a taste?
We had a great Easter at P.'s parents' place: my mother-in-law did all the cooking and I had a good rest. The Easter Bunny left loads of treats labelled 'Kevin' and 'Pauline' in the garden, strangely nothing was addressed to me! Isn't there some kind of Fairness Tribunal I could complain to?
Here’s a little joke you may enjoy:
Truths About Parenting
A baby usually wakes up in the wee-wee hours of the morning.
A child will not spill on a dirty floor.
A young child is a noise with dirt on it.
A youth becomes a man when the marks he wants to leave on the world have nothing to do with tires.
An unbreakable toy is useful for breaking other toys.
Be nice to your kids, for it is they who will choose your nursing home.
Familiarity breeds children.
God invented mothers because he couldn't be everywhere at once.
God invented guilt so mothers could be everywhere at once.
Having children is like having a bowling alley installed in your brain.
Having children will turn you into your parents.
If you have trouble getting your children's attention, just sit down and look comfortable.
Ill-bred children always display their pest manners.
Insanity is inherited; you get it from your kids.
Money isn't everything, but it sure keeps the kids in touch.
Never lend your car to anyone to whom you have given birth.
You can learn many things from children... like how much patience you have.
The first sign of maturity is the discovery that the volume knob also turns to the left.
There are three ways to get things done:
1) do it yourself
2) hire someone to do it
3) forbid your kids to do it.
There would be fewer problems with children if they had to chop wood to keep the television set going.
Those who say they "sleep like a baby" haven't got one.
The best thing to spend on your children is time.
I've been really busy this past week helping my neighbours who have just moved to Brittany. I looked after the children, shifted heavy boxes, fed the whole family and cleaned the empty house. Kevin and Pauline are sad to have lost their playmates. This is the neighbour who used to take Kevin to and from school for me, and so it's a big change now that I have to do it myself four times a day, every day except Wednesday. I like to walk there, it's only 20 minutes, but it's quite far for the shorter legs in the family, and the kids love taking the school bus, so we compromise and do half and half.
Next Monday Brendan and Liz from New Zealand are arriving in Paris, so I'll take the day off and meet them at the airport, then do the tourist thing again. I might lock the children in the basement for a few days so I can go and have some adult fun in Paris! I'm baking chocolate volcano pies and other delights in preparation for their visit, fancy a taste?
