A traditional Easter Sunday....somewhere....

Happy Easter if you celebrate that sort of thing. It is a pretty sunny day today and I wish we could go out for a walk, but we have had a very sick baby for the past few days and she is sleeping peacefully for the first time in 3 days, so not going to take any chances with that.

We did the chocolate egg thing, and Al even got me an egg, dairy free, wheat free, gluten free, vegan, and very tastey. Kids got Cadbury's chocolate button ones. :-) And several Cream eggs which were hidden around the house. R had a friend spend the night, so there were 20 eggs hidden around the house, and they took their time finding them. I like that fact the the 15 and 19 year olds still enjoy hunting for chocolate eggs as much as the 10 and 13 years olds, and as much as I enjoy hiding them. And I was impressed when S found her 4 so quickly, even the ones in the Jack in the Box, and the binoculars case.

So, on to our Easter dinner. Sort of forgot to go shopping for a nice dinner, so we went Italian. I managed meat balls cooked in some leftover tomato sauce, a vegan lasagne made with lots of veggies and spelt lasagne and wheat free, dairy free, mushroom and black pepper bechamel sauce. Then there was the basic pasta bake, with one my best cheese sauces (which I can't eat at the moment) and a nice crunchy topping of ciabatta crumbs. Then there was salad and bruscetta and ciabatta. Not bad, considering I thought I had nothing in. :-) And there was something for each of the fussy eaters in the house.

Now, off to eat more chocolate, 'cause that is what holidays are all about!

Is this a new habit?

I am wondering if Haiku is going to become a habit. I am just using it to remember moments I enjoy, and want to keep in my head. So I guess they won't all be sentimental, or beautiful, or lyrical. Like this one...

That's a big sausage
as she reaches with both hands
for Big Sister's lunch

It was rather funny.

The boy has talent

The boy has been drumming a lot. I must get around to sorting out some private lessons for him...in the meant time, he does African drumming with Manchester Music Service twice a week and seems to be pretty bloody good. So one of his teachers suggested he try out for the Chorlton young Musician of the Year. He did, and got through to the semi finals, which were last night. And now he is through to the finals, which will be in May. And while he did really well, and I heard lots of people talking about how good he was ... he was the only percussionist in a competition where somebody is chosen from each instrumental group. :-)

A haiku

One of those moments,
eyes looking deep into mine
laying in my arms.

I remember going to my first NNN camp years ago, when M was a few months old. There was a man called David who wrote Haiku and spent some time talking to some of us about the form, why he did it, and encouraging us to have a go.  Sadly, he has passed away now, but I guess he left a bit of himself in a lot of people, even those of us he only met briefly.
One of the things I remember his saying, is that Haiku is like a snapshot. It is a way to remember a moment when you don't have a camera, but still want to mark the moment, make it last. And that is what just happened to me.
This morning, sitting in front of the computer, in my pjs, in my messy study, with baby A sitting on my leg. Suddenly, she bent her head back in the crook of my arm, and just stared intently at my face. I had to pay attention. :-) For several minutes, we just looked at each other, as I resisted the urge to get the camera - and then she reached out for me and grabbed my nose, chin, cheeks, etc.  One of those moments, common and yet so special. And in spite of me cringing  - as I sound a bit like a greetings card, I will treasure it, and the memory of it. My little Haiku will make sure I remember.

Bobbins is Here!

Bobbins! Check it out!
And I am so motivated that I am finally getting to work on this, which I cast on about 2 weeks ago. But now I have officially started....well 2 rows of 2x2 ribbing, and even then I have had to back track  twice as I keep getting distracted. Baby is looking too cute, and the Boy has a new microphone plugged into his amp.  Must ignore cuteness and beatboxing attempts and get to work. Maybe I'll just have a nice bath first....

Le baby socks

 

This may be just another excuse to post a photo of my lovely baby girl, but there are socks to discuss. I used the last of my Lorna's Laces Fandango sock club yarn from Get Knitted. Of course, as you can tell, I ran out and finished off with some dark blue leftovers. C calls these The Blue Footed Booby-sucker Socks. :-)

   

                                  

Autonomous learning in action

Ok, so this autonomous education thing sometimes still bewilders me. I
don't mean that I don't believe in it, or that I am not 100% confident
in my children's ability to learn. It is just that sometimes, things are
a bit odd. like the role The Simpsons has played in their education.
The Simpsons is how they learned about puffer fish, and what started
C on his Edgar Allen Poe kick.
So, this morning over breakfast, C was asking me what the 2s meant
in things like H2O and CO2. So we had a little chat about hydrogen,
carbon and oxygen molecules. Then I thought I would show him the
periodic table of elements, just to see if he was interested. He has a
great memory. So great in fact that he already knew about the periodic
table, and could rattle off the first 8 elements in order. Why? Not
because he has been secretly studying it. But because of the Dan le
Sac/ Scroobius Pip song, Development. So we are off to listen to music
now...