Sink or swim - Stunt Kid & The G . . . .

The G: 'Stunt Kid says steps are for softies.........'

The B&G's schedule at nursery (both go on Tuesdays, she goes on Thursdays, and he goes on Fridays) means I get to spend one morning each week with just one child to look after.
I do feel that a little one-on-one time is important.
On such occasions, I like to let them choose the activities.
Friday's sans-B choice was swimming, The G's present favourite pastime.
I call it swimming, but little actual swimming is ever done.
It's more just messing around. In water.
Still, it serves a useful purpose and has given her immense confidence in and around the pool. Indeed, in recent times, she has become rather daring . . . .
Friday's session was spent, in the main, with The G flinging herself into the deep end from an elevated poolside position, satisfied that either a) I would catch her; or b) I wouldn't, but it'd all turn out OK. Mostly, I did. Once or twice I didn't.
On these occasions, she coughed and spluttered and looked a little surprised but all in all it didn't faze her.
I think she has been observing Stunt Kid, a regular at our local pool who specialises in enthralling all in attendance with his all-action approach to swimming.
Not much older than The G, he's like an aquatic Jackie Chan, in miniature, combining slapstick and danger to great effect.
His signature move is carried out when the wave machine is in full flow, Stunt Kid standing on the side and throwing himself, head-first, into 18 inches of water.
He attempts to time this so that his landing coincides with the arrival of a wave. On the occasions he gets it right, the effect is spectacular. If his timing is a little off, however - as it sometimes is - serious injuries are risked.
I like The G's new-found intrepidness, but I do hope she doesn't take it much further . . . .
Stunt Kid's mother always looks harried and never quite at ease.
Thinking about it, I haven't seen Stunt Kid at the pool for quite some time.
I do hope he's OK . . . .

Silent Sunday 29.04.12

Beware of the hole . . . .

Just back from the beach.

It appears as though hole jumping is going to be all the rage this summer . . . .

Our week in pictures #10 . . . .

Fiction Fridays #23: The Way Back Home . . . .

Popular in recent days, this, The G's bedtime selection on Monday, The B's for the following two nights.
Like all our favourite children's books, this one centres around one or two rather implausible occurrences. For instance:
1) The boy, the main character, discovers an aeroplane in his cupboard.
2) He manages to pilot said plane to the moon.
3) He is able to parachute back down to Earth in order to fetch petrol and tools.
4) The Martian then succeeds in lowering a rope to pull him back up again.
The above events were all accepted without question, although at one point, The B did take issue with one erroneous detail that even I had overlooked.
"Martians don't wear clothes," he squealed, his indignation clear. He has a point . . . .

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Our week in pictures #9 . . . .

Love letters to Rollo's Brother . . . .

The B's latest letter to RB........

Remember Rollo's Brother?
He hasn't featured on the blog since last September, but that doesn't mean he hasn't been active here during recent times.
Rollo's Brother might not live with us, but he is a regular visitor . . . .
For all the major dates on the calendar - birthdays, Christmas, even Easter - RB's attendance can be relied upon. So too during periods of illness.
This summer - as I've been informed in recent days - he is going to be joining us at Center Parcs. The B has even started making cards for Rollo's Brother and asking me to post them for him.
This I don't encourage, although even I have to admit, it's never quite the same when he isn't here . . . .

I've lost The G (but not for long) . . . .

She must be around here somewhere......

The G loves playing hide and seek . . . .
It's her favourite game - bar none.
It's just a shame that she's so bad at it.
It isn't that she doesn't understand it - about the rules, she is quite clear.
The problem here lies in her tactics and their execution.
For instance, The G has two hiding places . . . .
For games outside, she likes to stand behind the shed, for indoor contests it's on The B's bed, secreted beneath his duvet.
Two main issues here:
1) She always - and I mean, always - chooses the same hiding places.
2) Upon hearing the coming-ready-or-not prompt, she tends to start bellowing, as loud as possible, "Here I am . . . ."
Like I said, The G's quite bad at hide and seek, but she always enjoys it . . . .

Our week in pictures #8 . . . .

In their own words #24 . . . .

THE B (at the dinner table, food and its origins having been playing on his mind): "Daddy, does this hot dog pizza have real, actual dogs in it?"
Having answered in the negative, I prepared for the next question.
THE B (a quizzical expression on his face): "Daddy, you know the time you ate a pigeon in that restaurant, was it alive?"
I reassured him that I had not eaten a living bird.
He thought about this for a minute.
THE B (more curious than ever): "Did it have feathers on it?"
Having received his answer (it did not have feathers on), The B seemed satisfied and resumed eating, although it didn't take all that long for him to pose his next question.
THE B (this one coming from the left field): "Daddy, do ants eat trousers?"

 

Our week in pictures #7 . . . .

Here's a little blog I wrote . . . .

I'm going to download this for The B to listen to......

It seems as though certain people in the household are a little concerned about me . . . .
There's no need, I'm fine - really, I am.
It comes as no surprise that this all centres around The B, because he has always been a worrier. The problem here, that he thinks too much.
The latest issue to trouble him is his fear that once he starts school in September, I'm going to find myself at a loose end.
"Daddy, what are you going to do when I'm at school?" he asked me the other morning.
I think I just about managed to reassure him that I am going to be OK and that I'll find something to help me pass the time.
It shouldn't be too difficult. If nothing else, I think The G has plans for me . . . .

Our week in pictures #6 . . . .

 

More than a letter to me . . . .

Some quieter days are scheduled for September......

So, about this letter . . . .
It's not just about The B's school place, you understand.
It's more than that - much more, in fact.
It is, let's be honest, notification that life is soon going to change forever.
Since the correspondence in question landed on the doormat, I've been doing some calculations.
I reckon that, since I left work on 25th January, 2008, I've been a full-time stay-at-home dad for 220 weeks.
That's 1,540 days, or 36,960 hours (or 443,520 episodes of Peppa Pig, depending on your preferred unit of measurement).
In the beginning, pre-The G, it was just me and The B and, over the last 51 or so months, I've not spent much time - awake time, that is - not in his company.
Now, I'm being asked to start preparing for school.
Like I said before, life is soon going to change, and not just for him . . . .

Silent Sunday 22.04.12

Our week in pictures #5 . . . .

Fiction Fridays #22: Mr Rude . . . .

"Mr Rude is rude. He is very rude. He is very, very rude.

He is worse than very, very rude. 

He is extraordinarily rude . . . . ."

The B's choice this, anything from The Mr Men series ranking amongst his favourite reads.
He has all the originals, several titles from the more recent range, and is also rather partial to The G's Little Miss books.
His favourites include Mr Tickle, Mr Greedy, Mr Muddle and Mr Grumble.
It's Mr Rude he likes the best, however . . . .
Political correctness? Forget about it, Mr Rude tells it like it is.
For instance . . . .
Upon encountering a large-nosed man: "Big nose! With a nose like that you could vacuum the floor!"
Upon meeting an overweight woman: "Fatty! You're supposed to take the food out of the fridge, not eat the fridge as well!"
It's not difficult to see why The B likes Mr Rude so much.
One potential problem, that The B does like to repeat certain choice phrases and these particular passages, I fear, he is learning too well. It is only, I'm sure, a matter of time.

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Our week in pictures #4 . . . .

It's in the (school) bag . . . .

The hamper for the head was a good investment......

It's here . . . .
The letter about The B's school place, that is.
It is as I expected: there was no need to panic, we got our first-choice pick . . . .
Not that I've been losing much sleep over this.
You see, we did all we could - selected our nearest school, filled in all the forms and returned them on time, sent the head an expensive hamper - and the final decision wasn't something that could be influenced.
Besides, our second and third choices are good schools, the best thing about our preferred option being its location.
Half-a-mile from home, we'll be able to walk and won't need the car for all the dropping off and picking up that has to be done.
Given that The B likes to avoid engaging his legs if at all possible, I might - for the time being, at least - withhold this particular piece of information . . . .

Our week in pictures #3 . . . .

I am eckstremely sorry . . . .

It makes a change from Lion, I suppose......

Dear Pedants, 
Thanks for your correspondence. For the record, I am aware that a zylophone (note the deliberate use of the letter Z here, please don't complain) has wooden keys and that those on a glockenspiel are metal. 
I had intended this to be a joke, albeit not the funniest one ever made on this blog (this can be found here), but a joke nevertheless. I have taken your concerns on board and apologise for any confusion arising as a result of this misleading post. 
I am happy to set the record straight and will endeavour to ensure that this does not happen again.
Kind regards, 
@homedad.

This, by the way, changes nothing in regard to the anti-X campaign that I launched earlier this week.
If anything, events since then have strengthened my case.
Take, for instance, a book that The B picked out at the library two or three days ago . . . .
It's called ABC UK.
It is - in some regards, at least - a regular alphabet book.
The twist, according to the blurb on the back, is that it centres around 'all things British [and is an] Amazing, Brilliant, Creative alphabet celebration of the UK and its vibrant cultural identity'.
The B&G love it and I like the fact that L is for Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch, R is for Robin Hood and V is for Vindaloo.
It all goes awry, however, at the X, which is - according to the authors, at least - for Kiss (the theory, that 'some of the most wonderful love stories in the world come from Britain').
Forget glockenspiels, this is misleading.
Come back xylophone, all is forgiven . . . .

In their own words #23 . . . .

THE G (during lunchtime, to The B, between mouthfuls of jam sandwiches): "Where's Daddy?"
THE B (as unobservant as ever, noticing for the first time that I was no longer sitting next to him): "I don't know!"
Pause for thought.
THE B (starting to giggle): "Perhaps he's on the moon . . . ."
Cue immense hilarity.
THE G (chortling): "Perhaps he's on the Metro . . . ."
From this point on, raucous laughter punctuated the conversation as the suggestions became more and more surreal.
THE B: "He's in your hair."
THE G: "He's in your tummy."
THE B: "He's in the oven."
THE G: "He's in your ear."
THE B: "He's in your spotty hat."
THE G: "He's in your sandwich."
This might have gone on forever had I, standing less than 10 feet away, not made a noise closing the fridge door.
THE G (no longer laughing, instead sounding rather disappointed): "He's just in the kitchen . . . ."

Our week in pictures #2 . . . .

From The B's camera . . . .

The B's Biscuits.......

For Christmas 2010, The B received, amongst other things, his own digital camera.
Unlike an adult's camera, it had games (Catch It! and Dancing Frog) and these he enjoyed from the start.
Taking pictures, though, has taken some time to master.
I have several hundred photographs depicting the different floors in our house, The B's feet and various unidentifiable objects to prove this. But at last, it seems he has got the hang of it.
Take Biscuits, for instance, or the following shots that he has titled Mummy's Car, Beans and Big Boat . . . .

These images, and more, can be found at From The B's Camera - the latest board to be created at the @homedad's official Pinterest site.
There's not a floor or a foot to be seen . . . .