It’s getting so bitterly cold and dark. Please please tell me I’m allowed to hibernate now (or just eat chocolate all day every day)! I’m a tad late with my November family update, but it’s a good one, promise! Here is what my four little monkeys have been up to in the past few weeks:
Wriggly (3 years 5 months)
- I overheard you speaking to your dad as he was reluctantly changing your Pull-Up one night: “When I be a mummy, I change your nappy!” OK then.
- You must be having funny dreams. As I’m working late at night, I sometimes hear you laughing uncontrollably in your sleep. It is the sweetest sound!
- One afternoon, as we were watching a film, you started sucking your big toe. Classy!
- You had your booster injections and the flu vaccine last week. It caused a bit of a reaction, with a very hot, sore arm for three days.
- Whenever your sisters say something you don’t like, you call them “silly old girls!”
- As we were sharing a croissant in M&S one morning, you took the pastry and declared, “You can have the crumbs!” Thank you, oh generous one!
- You were really helpful at playgroup when I was taking photos of all the children!
- You love playing music with your dad. He’s on the guitar and you ‘play’ the harmonica.
- As we were having lunch one day, you declared: “Don’t talk with your mouth with food in!”
- I picked you up early from preschool one afternoon and said, “Hello, Princess!”You: “I’m not a princess. I’m just a person!”
I love your attitude. It might save you a heartache or two in the future
- Me: “I’m so cold!”You: “You can have my jumper, mummy. It make you warm.”
- You: “Mum, I love criscool because I have a blue carpet.”Me: “Is the blue carpet the best thing at preschool?”
You: “Yeah!”
Jumpy (5 years 1 month)
- You have had some more food challenges in hospital and it’s been great: you have outgrown your main allergies: wheat, baked egg and your sensitisations to peanut and almond are now off the list too!
- Your allergist has planned to test cooked egg, Brazil nut and pistachio. If you pass these, we will also be encouraged to introduce other tree nuts into your diet (at home!). That’s the best way to end the year!
- You had a sleepover at your best friend’s house and the two of you were just too adorable!
- One afternoon, you said to me: ”Can you hear my song, Mummy? It’s a bit of a rude song: “Shoo shoo little hen, shoo shoo to the loo!””
- You’re really engrossed in Christmas play rehearsals. You will be a star in the school performance, and have been practising your songs in bed every night. You have such a beautiful singing voice!
- You have a very logical mind and you’re really good at puzzles, mazes and anything to do with logic.
Beanie (7 years 2 months)
- Your anger issues are affecting the whole family. I wrote an email to your school asking for help and you have recently joined the ‘Smiling Minds Club.’ It has helped one of your friends overcome her daily meltdowns and I have high hopes it will enable you to control the anger that bubbles inside you and leads you to blurt out unjustified cursing like “idiot” or “stupid” at me or your siblings.
- You have had quite a few sleepovers with friends at home and away from home. Spending time with close friends makes you really happy.
- You tripped over a friend at school, resulting in the biggest graze and bruise you’ve ever had. Several teachers examined the damage to your hip and were pondering sending you home, but you were the bravest little trooper and insisted on staying at school and attending football club after school. You are one tough cookie!
- As we were out on a ‘treat afternoon,’ just the two of us, I asked you whether you knew why you were getting really angry sometimes. You just replied, “Food calms me down. It just makes me feel relaxed and happy.” There and then, it dawned on me that your anger issues might be linked to food. I am the same. I get completely irrational when I need food. Maybe you’re not angry after all: you might just be hangry!
Crevette (9 years 4 months)
- You’ve had a couple of days off school with tonsillitis. You’re rarely ill so it was quite tough for you to feel so unwell. Cuddles and a dose of Minecraft helped you get better.
- You absolutely hate having your hair cut. The problem is your hair is so thick and straight I’m not sure what it would look like if I let you grow it a bit…
- You’re getting a lot less reluctant about your swimming training on Friday nights, thank goodness. You’re focusing on butterfly stroke at the moment. I could never do it properly myself, so I’m pretty impressed and proud of you for persevering with it.
- Ofsted paid a visit to your school and you were disappointed the inspector didn’t come to your class.
- You had Viking day at school: you looked so handsome dressed as a warrior!
- You and I went to the restaurant to chat and start looking into the 11+ exams. It was lovely!
- 11+ work together has surprisingly been a lot more enjoyable than I ever expected. It still really bothers me that this archaic system is driving so many parents (Not me! No way!) to pay for tuitions to prepare for something that is elitist and has no place in state education (just my opinion). What can you do when so many of our closest schools abide by that test as a criteria for admission? We started working on Verbal Reasoning, Maths and Non-verbal reasoning with a ‘challenge’ perspective and it’s been lovely. We work for about half an hour each day after the girls have gone to bed and it’s been really nice quality time, learning new things together. I’m not pushing you to be the best, but we simply try to focus on understanding your mistakes and what you need to do next to improve.
- You’ve been my little ‘elf helper’ for the first time this year, choosing my Christmas present and helping me pick your uncles’ pressies. I’ve really enjoyed doing that with you.
