As yet unnamed!

A Very Happy Charlie

Here's happy boy Charlie in our paddling pool. More like an inflatable bath tub really. He spent some time in there this weekend but I think he mostly likes to drink the water or throw it out all over the garden. His other specialty is reaching in when he's fully clothed, pouring water down his front and then going into his sandpit. He usually follows this up by coming into the house so there is fine play sand ALL over the house. It's even in our bed. I suppose it's a small price to pay to have happy kids though.  

Hot week!

It's been a super warm week which has been nice and awful all in one. I hate the heat when there is not plentiful AC everywhere. It's nice to see the sun though and fun to see the kids enjoy the weather. Another week has zoomed past and I only seem to notice how fast time flies when I come to blog and realize it's been a week already since the last time!  

We had the usual playdate this week and then yesterday I went out and bought a new paddling pool for the kids as we can't find the one from last year. What I didn't realize was how big it was going to be. To be honest, I went by the photo and didn't even think to check the dimensions. So we have a 2.4m (nearly 8ft!) long paddling pool in the garden. It's great though as we can easily fit the kids and 2 adults in it or if we have kids over for a playdate we can fit all the kids! The kids were in the pool from around 11am-6pm yesterday. Then again this morning before lunch. I think we will spend lots of time in there this weekend as it's supposed to be really hot! I'll take photos tomorrow. 

I took this photo earlier in the week in Charlie's room at bedtime. Noemie lately has this thing where she wants to help put Charlie to bed. Sometimes she holds him on her lap while he has his milk. I'm guessing he's kinda heavy though as she seems to prefer him next to her these days. They are so sweet to each for the most part so I guess we're lucky as I know not all siblings get along. Probably helps that Mimi is really sweet and nurturing and Charlie is just a happy little fella in general! 

Another bathroom finished! And Charlie cuteness.

 

The kids' bathroom renovation is finally done! It only took just under 3 weeks and turned out really well I think. The first photo was taken the day we completed on our house. In the last 4 years, the shower glass door fell off it's hinges. We got new windows as the ones in the house were wood and so rotted that they were just about ready to fall out of the wall. The shower worked but not very well as the previous owner screwed the shower hand attachment in the wrong way around and I didn't dare try to repair it in case nothing went back on. The kids also totally defaced and stained the bathtub with bath crayons that were supposed to wash off but didn't. Now we have a gorgeous modern new bathroom. Big mirror, heated towel rack, sink with a mixer tap so no one gets burned or frozen, a shower that works, and a pretty tiled floor to replace the lino flooring that was there before. I love that the kids have a nice big surface for all their toothpastes as well as the medicine cabinet (which used to be where the mirror now is) is now a hideaway cupboard that slides out. Great use of the space isn't it? 

Here is a fun little video of Charlie on a ride on Wednesday afternoon. Earlier in the day the kids had a playdate and then Noemie and her little friends all went to nursery in the afternoon so Susanna and I went shopping with Charlie. There is some shopping center in Wandsworth or Battersea or something called Southfield Center and they have a poundland there so as I had never been to one I wanted to go and see what it was all about. I guess this one wasn't overly great but I did get some sticker books and that sort of thing which was cool. We also went to a home store called Tiger (never heard of any of these stores) and got a cute purple and white polka dot hand brush and pan along with a picnic basket to use as a work in progress basket for my knitting. Then we did some major purchasing at the toyshop. We had to cab home as there was that much stuff... ok I lie, I would've cabbed even if I had bought nothing and we cabbed there as well as I got bored waiting for the bus. But we did get tons of toys and I was so excited to pick Mimi up at school so she could see what I got. The kids had to open half the stuff the next day as we ran out of time before bedtime to open everything. It was a lot of fun though the shopping center was a bit scary and not the type of place I would usually go to... much prefer Westfields! 

Its Show Time!

 Mimi had her school summer play this afternoon and class 3's theme was Peppa Pig. They divided class 3 up into groups of animals (pigs, sheep, dogs and cats) and Mimi was a little piggy. The only piggy costume for kids that I could find was an all in one halloween outfit which included a hood with the snout and ears. I had visions of her melting on stage so I made her costume instead. It was pretty simple as she just had to wear a bunch of pink and then I made her snout from a paper towel roll that I covered with cardstock. The tail was an icord that I knitted last night and just tweaked to get the curl. The ears are also card that I double lined and then glued to a hairband and then added some glitter. She was pretty thrilled about it and happily wore it other than the snout which she wore around her neck instead. 

Kirk left work early and we met up outside the Hall... it was pretty amazing that they rented a real show hall in Chelsea rather than a little hall in a church or something of the sort. Apparently Suzanne Vega was playing a show there tonight. Mimi was a bit nervous when we left her with the teachers and classmates but she did so well when the time came! She lasted the entire show, she didn't cry at all and she participated quite well. She did have a few moments where she wouldn't sit down despite everyone else sitting and she turned her back to the audience a few times like when a little friend of hers was howling. Mimi was checking to make sure her friend was okay. A couple of kids left the stage within moments as they were sobbing, some never even made it onto the stage and I was expecting Mimi to get overwhelmed within a few minutes and that we'd have her sitting with us before long but I am pleased I was wrong :) 

Here are some more pictures I took though they aren't great. We are going to order some DVDs of the show of course (totally sucker parent tactics courtesy of the school) so we can watch the show over and over. 

  

Bathroom Progress and an OUCH!

It's been a while but it's been hectic around here so I haven't been much in the mood to blog when I get a chance to sit down! The builders are not quite done with the bathroom but the worst of the dust/mess is over I think (I hope).  They need to add a mirror, door to the pull out cupboard, toilet paper holder roll, the radiator towel rack and a bit more silicone here and there. I'm also going to have them disable the ventilator fan as Mimi hates it and refuses to go in there as a result. We can crack the window to air the bathroom out so it's not a big deal and we need the kids to be willing to take a bath in there!   

The garden shed goes in tomorrow and Tuesday which means we can clear out some stuff from the playroom and kitchen that needs to get stored in there. Looking forward to all the work being done and totally overhauling the house in terms of cleaning! 

We've also had a few bugs and ankle oopses in our house this week. Kirk was home on Friday with some weird tummy bug that just hit on early Friday morning. He had a really high fever, was shaking and was unable to eat and keep anything in his body. Poor guy. Noemie then had a high fever all day yesterday and slept a ton but luckily she did manage to eat and kept things down and in. Charlie so far has been fine other than his usual issues: teething that goes on forever and generally being super needy. I then managed to fall down the last step in our living room last night and landed on the outside of my left ankle. I could've sworn I heard a crack but it doesn't appear to be broken. I think I will venture to the A&E tomorrow to have it checked out as it's a bit hard to walk on it and I have to do the school run tomorrow as S leaves at 2pm on Mondays. Worst case I will keep N at home so we can at least stay put and just have to deal with getting around indoors rather than pushing Charlie in the stroller to and from school. It's quite swollen still but I have been keeping my foot up and icing it regularly. The only positive is that I got a ton of knitting time in today but felt guilty most of the time as Kirk was having to deal with the munchkins. 

No other real news to report. Will have to try and be better about blogging.  

Dance party and the garden

The kids had a crazy time running around in circles around the living room and dancing to a little sesame street CD "player". They ran around so much that Mimi was extra tired and fell asleep pretty easily for a change!

We had our pond removed and here is what the garden looks like now. The sandpit (red crab) is where the pond once was. It was quite a major feat for the builders to remove the pond and the rocks. The rocks were cemented into the ground so they had a big time power tool and had to break the stone into 4 pieces to get it apart and out. They filled the hole with cement and used some of the patio slabs that they found under the greenhouse which we also had removed. Photos of what replaces it when it's in place later in the week. I love how much more space we have in the garden just because we got rid of a tiny pond. We're having a big playdate here on Monday so hope the weather holds up so the kids can have a nice time outside!