Babyhood

On Wednesdays there is no school, so I have to entertain the children myself. Usually I take them out, but last week I didn’t feel like dragging them outside because it is bitterly cold. I baked a lemon and poppy seed cake for afternoon tea, as a new friend Véronique (from New Caledonia, lives just down the road) was invited with her two sons, one of whom is in Kevin’s class. But she had to postpone it, which was a disappointment. To put an end to the monotony, grizzles and rising stress levels, I put the cake in the freezer for next week and said “Right! Let’s go to MacDonalds!”

For once, it was an enjoyable experience: despite the crowds our food came quickly and was hot, and the children received a marvellous Lego monster with rotating nose in their kiddy packs. After that we shopped at a big supermarket in Fonty. I didn’t really need much, but they love to push those little trolleys around themselves, and it killed another hour or so.

We watched a lot of TV! Also did some more painting, we’re decorating butcher’s paper to use for wrapping presents. However they always lose interest after about 20 minutes, just as I’m starting to enjoy myself. Pauline doesn’t actually get much paint onto the paper, however she loves making the water black, and putting her dirty brush into all the other colours, which drives me mad, needless to say. Kevin painted a very handsome railway track on his paper. His teacher told me yesterday that she can feel he is growing in confidence and can write his name in smaller, more precise letters now. That’s really good news.