Happy Happy New Year

All the best to everyone for 2008- hope it is filled with sunshine and happiness.

Christmas stories and photos to follow after recovery period!

Ready, Set, Go!

It's 9pm, Mae isn't asleep, and we have just made one of her Santa gifts. She asked for a microphone, and Geoff got her one from Early Learning Centre, a kids toy shop.
It's got an applause button.

And...


It's got a booing button!!!

Christmas ain't what it used to be.

(Other news, Andrew made it here, plane train and automobile, Geoff has terrible chicken pox!)

But the turkey is here, mom has cleaned non-stop, and the nanaimo bars are going down a treat.

Happy Christmas!!

More pics tomorrow, am already on the drink.

Well, you can't please everyone. Or, Feliz Navidad.

Christmas is quite a personal and traditional thing. And one thing we don't have is a star to top our tree. The last two years I have made them (look back last year for our fab topper). Mae wanted a Grinch one this year but as she didn't want to watch the movie yesterday for me to reference it, we got Dora. Complete with festive greetings.


My visiting family may not appreciate this, however I would like to ask you to look at it as a Boney M Christmas. Now, it works perfectly.

A la nightime.

Guess What

New Job

Coupla coffees, bit of a chat, lunch, and bit of reading. First day over.
So far, so good.... I think I like it!
Thanks for the card, Shaz.

Damn you, Snap, Crackle and Pop!!

Here's a handy hint for you domestic goddesses (and gods): when baking with rice crispies, ensure that they are not stale before you add them to the mix. Bastards.

A request

Wow! I actually got a request to update the blog! That's heartwarming, although I would invite more comments! But honestly, Rach, not much going on this week:

A spot of bird watching (I need a new lens):

Having pals over:

Cleaning the kitchen:

But here's a riddle to all the stay at home mothers out there: Take one bored housewife, who watches too much Heston Blumenthal, a request for a cowgirl supper and what do you get:

Who can do better? My family weren't impressed. I was shocked and hurt. I accept full responsibility as well as ideas for meals (with photos please).

Here's a funny story though. Mae is currently very aware that people speak other languages, mostly due to having Polish friends. And Dora for the Espanol. On the way to school we were talking about how some people speak Polish, some English when she said "but I speak Canadian. I say 'dude'"

Totally, dude.

I am the Mog

Mae loves this song:

I put horses heads in people's beds

'Cus I am the mog.

Well, that's what she thinks it is. It's actually I am the Mob, which makes more sense. But would you like to explain what that means to a three year old? She thinks it's a song about a cat.

Mae's taste in music is diverse. The above is by Cerys Matthews, former lead of Catatonia. She also likes the White Stripes, and that is much better than her other favourite, rap. It might have a good beat, but you know, the lyrics leave a little to be desired.....fizzle ma shizzle is the tame stuff. C to the R to the A to the P.....

I digress. What this blog is about is Cerys. Geoff's dream woman. He is actually watching I'm a Celebrity, as she is on it this year. Actually, she is very sweet.....too bad Michael Vartan isn't on it as well, the perfect show....mmmmmmmmm

I'm in the money!

Well, not quite, and I have to work for it, but I have a new job!! Yay! Remember that job I didn't get a few weeks ago? Well, they called me afterwards and offered me a different one!!!
Only 10 hours a week but I still need to clean up after the two savages here at home, don't have time for much more!!
PS- I still don't have enough for Christmas gifts, so don't ask.

The Jungle Book in Mae's World

Look for the bare necessinees

The simple bare necessinees

Forget about your wormies and your stripes

I mean the bare necessinees

That's why a bear can rest at ease

With just the bare necessinees of life

Families need Fathers

Why? You may ask?

Well, in my most cynical bitchy moments I may ask why as well (not often though, really, Geoff)- but Mae hasn't been going to bed well for about two months and we are all at the end of our tether (on Friday I was visualising the fall out from a quick shake of my daughter-obviously that calmed me down)

We have tried everything. Put her back in bed, no talking (I don't agree with this one, especially when Mae screams 'PLEASE! Just talk me me!')

Shouting (which is particularly effective, although not fun)

Threatening that uncle Chris will come in if you don't stay in your room, but we don't want years of horror of uncle Chris.

Barganing with treats or special days (but I don't wanna stay home all day after a bad night so that doesn't work)

And so on, ad infinitum.

Then Geoff has this brilliant idea to buy some stupid dinkies from Ebay. Cue eye rolling.

The first night we told her about her new star chart, and that if she stays in bed well she will get a heart sticker and a car in the morning.

Next morning she got a sad face sticker. Needless to say there were tears.

Since then....It WORKED!!!!!!

We moved her back into her old bed, which she asked for (mom, I think you are in the bunk bed over Christmas), and now she has two new cars.

I am sure that wouldn't have worked for me as a kid. Where did Mae come from....???

Hint:

Too Busy to Work

Thank god I didn't get the job at the Carer's Centre- I don't know when I would have fit it in! (there's a low sob hiding somewhere in last week, but we Buddhists don't look back...) Well, except to tell you we had a great time with Chris, Elaine and Lauren, as well as Robyn and her mom Leon who came along for a Hallowe'en playdate (and stropdate by Mae) on Saturday.

Then we had a brand new guest! Really Brand New! Baby Claire visited with her mom, the one with the big gazoongas. As always, an enchanting day; slightly broody but only slightly. Then I think Mae spat on me. That always does it, thanks Mae!!!

We are looking forward to a nice winter, a few weeks with just the three of us, chilling. Hopefully not fattening up like this Robin, who is munching in our back garden. He is so round, his wings don't lie flat!! I'm not actually sure if it's body fat or bravado. He had a bit of an attitude.

I think I'm a Buddhist

The evidence?

Well, there's Samye Ling, a lovely Tibetan Monastery in the hills of Dumfries and Galloway. I love visiting there, it's so peaceful. Plus, yaks. (cool)

Next? Well, earlier in the year I read 'Mao- The Unknown Story' as I have no knowledge of history (any era, area, philosophy of, etc) and was quite interested in China's history.

The book is a slog, but very interesting. I took me about two months to read. An average sized book usually takes me 4 days to a week. Ususally when I read a book it leads to other ideas and a quest for more knowledge. In this book it was Tibet and Taiwan, history of.

Also for the longest time I have been wanting to connect with a 'cause'. But nothing really spoke to me. There is/was:

Amnesty International, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, Christian Aid, Send-a-Cow, Bernardos, NSPCC, Mind, Shelter, and so on.

Last week, when browsing in a cool bookshop with Sharon (check her blog) I came across a book called 'For Tibet with Love' (a Beginner's Guide to Changing the World).

It's written by Isabel Losada and is a personal story about her quest to change the world. It's funny, emotional and true. I like her. It's the kind of book that I would liked to have written.

I won't tell you any more, I will just tell you to buy it and read it. Soon. Now.

So she has started an organisation called Act for Tibet. And the very last bit is when she gets to meet the Dalai Lama. And she asks a question about the courage to change the things that you can. (To me this was- what do we do? and who do we do it for?) 'But how do you know the difference? Between what you can change and can't?'

And the Dalai Lama says (and I quote):

'Through experiment. Research. Calculate what you can acheive on a mental level, then experiment.'

I really liked that. I can identify with that. And now, more experimentation.

Happy Birthday Geoff!

Holy Birthday month! Loads of Birthdays, and new arrivals.

Geoff isn't a fan of Birthdays (why? He got a great new bike), but my view? One year closer to Enlightenment.

Dammit Days

These are the opposite of salad days. A term coined by Mae, as in 'Mum, when you are at John and Sharons it's my dammit days'.


I bet Sharon is having more of a dammit day than us, Mae!!

What's Eating Gilbert....?

From the land of Sawney Bean. Reduced to dogs.

Ode to Heather

Well, I am comfortably ensconsed in the Reid household, no baby yet, so shopping, cafe-ing, watching movies and chilling with my new best friend, Heather.

Only a year ago this little girl wouldn't come near me, now I am being mentioned in grace at dinner, being shown how well she can wipe her own bum, sitting on my knee at dinner and wanting me to put her to bed.

On the other hand, each time I call Mae in Edinburgh I get hung up on- 'no time to lose! I am going to the park! Daddy how to I hang up the phone...?'

Maybe I will stay here.....

Birthday Business

Well, October is the month of birthdays. Dad and Penny are here, both of whom are celebrating their birthdays.

Geoff's birthday is this month as is cousin Seans.

And we are waiting for a new birthday of a very special person. Here is the before picture.

Here is Geoff on his birthday bike, with his new birthday glassess (for those of you who know racing, he looks like a handsome Eddie Jordan.)

And here is Mae helping her grandpa blow out his candles. She, as usual, drew a picture of him and her ice skating in his birthday card. Grandpa was skating with a walking stick.

And as usual, dad brought the weather with him again. Here we are after a long tartan-y day in the tartan capital, Moffat, looking at the Devil's Beeftub. Does anyone want to know why this area is called the Devil's Beeftub?

Two questions

One, why do we have toenails? They are the stupidest part of the human body.

And two- why is there no house numbered 13 on our street? I just realised this after the people at number 15 lost their cat. Then I tried to figure out where their house was- it is where number 13 should be. So, number 15 is unlucky, right? Because it is the 13th house! Stupid planners. Would somebody not BUY the house called number 13? Stupid, stupid, stupid.

somebody answer these questions.

Free Burma

Unite

let's all get together and support the peaceful revolution in Burma.

Now I can die happy

Today I was in a room with 7 tonnes of honey.

Happy Birthday Mom!!!!

And thank you for sending us this rainbow!

And another thanks to Sharon for a nice day on Tuesday. Here are the girls nice and quiet, sat in front of a movie. Sharon and I were on our third G&T. Yes, she is 8.5 months pregnant.

Handling in the ruck

I watched my first rugby game tonight. What the hell. It makes American Football look like chess.

But it's the players themselves that are fascinating. I just want to look at them. It's a weird compulsion, I know. I apologise.

I don't believe it!!!!

So this weekend we went to Cream O' Galloway- the best ice cream in Britain. For those of you who have tried Cornish ice cream, it doesn't compare. Yummy. Here's Mae having a double chocolate.

She almost finished it......

Then we went to the David Coulthard Museum. He is a Formula One driver who is from the area, and Mae was so excited. We are in deep trouble. I really think she is going to end up a girl racer. She ran around the place saying I don't believe it! then ran up to the woman at the counter and asked if she could touch the cars. That's when the woman said she could pick one and sit in it- I can't tell you how happy she was!! See her looking at all the memorabilia? I really don't get it, but hey, she must get it from her Papa...

And here's a pic for Rita- here are the fairy earrings the dummy fairie gave Mae. Thank god they are slightly painful- they put Mae off real ones. It won't happen anyway. I used to hate my dad for saying I couldn't have earrings until I was 16- then I got shot in the earlobes with those evil guns and I realised he was right....