Been a while.

Sorry I've been busy. I'll try to be better.

As a reminder

The 5 year old stuck this to the front door, so that "you don't forget!"

Small indulgence

Today we acquired a Douwe Egberts Senseo machine. Not the one I really really want just the bog standard one. But hey this one was free the Latte I would have to pay 150 Euro, so that's on hold for now.

My Aunt S one our Senseo in a staff raffle. She does not drink coffee, so passed it on to my Dad. Dad has a serious coffee habit. For him it worked out only slightly cheaper than going to Starbucks, so he went back to using the old filter machine.

My Sister-in-law has the Senseo Latte. I want to point out that I am not someone who is covetous but baby I want that machine. I am in love with the lattes, the cappuccinos, the frothy milk and the chocolate powder to go on top.

I mentioned my current lust object to my Mum today. And she pulls the Senseo out the cupboard. Mine free of charge.

Now for a lovely cup of coffee and some Green & Blacks dark chocolate.

Infectious

In our little town there is a group of very strict Christian. No TV, no internet, girls wear long skirts or dresses and cover their hair. Boys and girls do not mix after a certain age. (presumably there is an age at which they are allowed to mix again, otherwise there would be no new children ;-) )

At pre-school we have three children who belong to this group. One of their rules is that they must not eat with members outside their church. We have snack time. Most under 5's can't go more than a couple of hours without food. So we have milk, bread and fruit (provided they are not allergic of course).

When snack time came round today I had to place our three Christian children at a separate table. Two other boys wanted to sit with them. They are friends and there was space at the table. I had to tell them to sit somewhere else. "Why? Why can't I sit with them? Have they been naughty?" asked J. "Are they infectious? Mummy is a nurse and she says you shouldn't sit with infectious people. Are they ill?" asked B.

Very good questions I thought. And explaining to them that is was due to their religion did not work. "What like S. not eating meat because she is Mussels? But she sits with us." Quick think - mussles?? oh Muslim. I had to admit that I didn't know the ins and outs of it. "Well I hope it isn't catching, this religious." stated B clearly not wanting to let go of the illness theory.

It's a shame that sometimes religion can isolate people.

Washing powder

I used to watch Charlie Brown and the Peanuts. One of the gang is a little boy who is covered in dirt and walks around in a cloud of dust. I can't remember his name but if you watched Peanuts you'll know the one I mean.

At pre-school we have a little boy who reminds me of that character. He comes in grubby in the mornings. The next day he is grubbier still. We normally clean his breakfast of his face first thing we do. Little peanut is potty trained but he needs reminding a lot of the time. My colleague had changed him once already after an accident. The clothes in peanut's bag were just as grubby as the ones he came in with. Just before lunch he wet himself again. It was my turn to change him as his spare things had been used already I got some clothes out of the emergency box. "Ah!" sighs peanut "washing powder." as he sniffs the clothes. After some questioning it turns out he wets himself so that he can wear our spares because they are clean.

Apparently this has been raised with his mother before. The older brother used to come in so dirty that my supervisor had a word with the mother. My supervisor was saddened to hear that standards were slipping again. I hope for little peanut that his clothes will be washed more often as he clearly does not like being dirty.

Expedit

I have done some online shopping. I ordered an Epedit from Ikea. It will be delivered on 6 March.
I think Mr Y is a feeling a bit cheated. No 1.5 hour drive there or 1.5 hours back. No meatballs, no lugging heavy stuff or buying things in the market hall.

Sometimes unpopular decisions have to be made. But hey storage space in the house is needed.

I never knew

I was a geek at school. Let me be honest I was a nerd. I was good at science I wore glasses and was somewhat lax about my personal appearance - hair was a mess most of the time. I had spots for goodness sake. I was teased but not much. Either because my brother beat them up for me or because I gave them a sharp set down.

I grew up. The acne cleared, the puppy fat disappeared due to lots of rowing. I was however still a nerd. I did not drink at parties and did not seek out the dark corners of the sport's field in male company.

One of the girls I went to school with is now an author and writes a column in a national newspaper. She was popular at school, pretty, slim and wasn't acne riddled. She was also not above a bit of heavy petting. In her column she talks about her struggles with bulimia and depression. Apparently this was all going on at the age of 15 and carried on till in her 20's.

I was shocked. I never knew. As far as I knew she had a great life. Her big brother didn't beat up boys who asked his sister to the school disco. She was popular. Apparently she had a great fear of failing and of disappointing others.

I never thought of myself as a happy teenager but looking back maybe I was. I knew who I wanted to be and that whatever happened my parents and brother loved me. I really hope my daughters will grow up to know who they are and that we love them. And that they do not have to go through such insecurity to find themselves.