Category: Family & Parenting

Family & Parenting, Stuff About Me, Things We Should Talk About at the Dinner Table8 Comments

The times they are a-changing

mimbles

When Adam and I married I pretty much co-opted him into our family Christmas traditions, when Christmas lunch was at my mum’s place we’d have lunch with his parents and then head over to join my family, if my family were further afield for the day we’d go to them for lunch and see his parents in the evening on the way home. That became less fun when we had small kids – traveling for an hour across Sydney in the heat on Christmas day was pretty hideous and after one particularly bad experience involving visits to three different homes, … Continue reading The times they are a-changing

Blog Link-ups and Memes, Family & Parenting, Food Glorious Food, Keeping the Masses Entertained, Things We Should Talk About at the Dinner Table15 Comments

Friday Fragments and Linkfest No. 13

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Hosted by Mrs4444. I won’t be around to comment on everyone else’s Friday Fragments till early next week, we’re off camping at the beach for the weekend – wish us good weather and kid-friendly surf! **** Monday morning’s car trip to school conversation went like this – Tom: Mum, how old do you have to be to mumble mumble mumble? Me: I can’t understand what you’re asking. Tom: *repeats* Me: It’s like you’re speaking a foreign language! Tom: How old do you have to be to have sex? Me: *enlightenment dawns, he was spelling S-E-X and I just wasn’t parsing … Continue reading Friday Fragments and Linkfest No. 13

Blog Link-ups and Memes, Family & Parenting, Historical reenactment, Pets and Other Wildlife, Stuff About Me, Things We Should Talk About at the Dinner Table5 Comments

Party time!

mimbles

Our Christmas party on Saturday afternoon and evening seemed to go well, I certainly had fun and I’m pretty sure I wasn’t the only one. We began the afternoon with the traditional sharing of diseases. What? That’s not part of your usual Christmas celebrations? Viv, aka tigtog, fared particularly badly on the contagion front. A little later on, just as Adam had been obliged to duck out for a few minutes, this strange man dressed in a completely inappropriate fashion for a summer day in Sydney, turned up carrying a sack full of goodies. The kids seemed to know what … Continue reading Party time!

Blog Link-ups and Memes, Family & Parenting, Keeping the Masses Entertained, Stuff About Me20 Comments

Beginner’s Guide to Messiah

mimbles

When Adam announced that he was buying tickets for us to take the kids to a performance of Handel’s Messiah at the Sydney Opera House the day after our Christmas party I was a little unsure of the wisdom of such an endeavour. At breakfast this morning, which we were eating at midday on account of Adam and I having gone to bed at 4am, Tom very nearly confirmed all my fears by greeting the news that we were off to the city with a massive attack of the grumps, but after I threatened dire consequences for bad behaviour and … Continue reading Beginner’s Guide to Messiah

Blog Link-ups and Memes, Family & Parenting, Things We Should Talk About at the Dinner Table13 Comments

Friday Fragments

mimbles

Hosted by Mrs4444. Things about which I am glad: Despite my fears I did not have an excruciating back spasm and find myself swearing loudly in the middle of delivering my Parents & Citizens Association President’s report to the hall packed with the entire families of nearly every student at my kids’ school. When Caitlin tried to pick the front door lock with a stick this afternoon she broke a piece of stick off inside it thus preventing the key from fitting in the lock. The sliding security door uses the same key as the front door (which was the … Continue reading Friday Fragments

Family & Parenting, Keeping the Masses Entertained9 Comments

Drama

mimbles

I’m not usually a big fan of drama in my life, but there are varieties I quite enjoy. Last night we had a bit of both. Tom was dropped off at rehearsal for his Drama school‘s end of year showcase performance at 3:30pm, he was happy and excited and all was well with the world. When we arrived just after 6:00pm he was sitting outside looking somewhat forlorn. I asked if he was ok and he announced he was feeling sick and wanted to go home. I had a strong suspicion that either something had happened that upset him or … Continue reading Drama

Family & Parenting, Stuff About Me, Things We Should Talk About at the Dinner Table3 Comments

The ghost of Christmas past

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Once upon a time my Christmas day started with getting up as early as I thought I could get away with and seeing what was in the pillowslip on the end of my bed. I still have very clear memories of finding books and games in there. The books were my favourite presents. The pillowcase in question was this one. It was bought at a school fete I think, many many moons ago, it must be going on for 30 years old now, I still use it on my bed occasionally. My tiger used to spend most of the year … Continue reading The ghost of Christmas past

Family & Parenting, Stuff About Me, Things We Should Talk About at the Dinner Table8 Comments

I’m really rather fond of this time of year

mimbles

Here we are at the beginning of December, my house is strewn with Christmas decorations, the kids have decorated the tree, we have strings of lights ready to festoon the garden, I have all my special Christmas candles out, the Advent calendar is hanging by the dining table, there’s Christmas music loaded up on the iPod and I’ve started my annual re-read of Connie Willis’ Miracle and Other Christmas Stories. Yes, I’m an atheist celebrating a pagan mid-winter festival co-opted by the Christian church to commemorate the birth of a man who was was almost certainly not born on the … Continue reading I’m really rather fond of this time of year