So the children said farewell to their Singaporean cousin this weekend. They were pretty upset but were soon diverted by a trip to London's large toy store, Hamleys. In fact we managed to do our farewells just outside the shop and the kids were practically pulling our arms off to get inside.
Although, afterwards he first person they wanted to show their presents too was their uber cool cousin. (who by now was probably being severely reprimanded by his Dad for being suspended from school. But that's another story.)
The upshot is that, due to the fact we live in the middle of nowhere, cousin M has decided that he would like to come back for his study break. Obviously, he managed to get quite a bit of studying done whilst he was with us - well, whilst the children were at school anyway. So we look forward to seeing him then, providing his mother doesn't barbecue him over the Easter break.
The remainder of the weekend has been spent in domestic bliss... well, we like to think of it as bliss, in reality I cleaned out all the animal cages - the kids have practically a zoo as you know - oddly enough they don't seem to show the same enthusiasm for their pets when it comes to cleaning out time, leaving me with up to my elbows in guinea pig/rabbit droppings and smelly sawdust. Does Papa help? well usually I would say no, its usually about this time that he finds something really important that needs doing immediately. However, yesterday he decided to help TJ clean out his guinea pig... however, rather than taking the cage into the garage, as we would normally do, he decided that he would clean it out in TJ's bedroom... Needless to say, the bedroom ended up covered in sawdust and stank to high heaven.
I brought the hoover up to clean the mess left behind by TJ and Papa... and Benjy the guinea pig of course. TJ took one look at the vacuum cleaner and suddenly asked me if he could use it. I looked at him, "Are you sure you want to clean the floor?" I asked. "Please, please, can I do it?" He was practically begging me. I put on my best 'I'm not sure' look. "I don't know if you'll be able to clean the whole room," I said. "I can," he implored, 'I can do the whole upstairs if you want."I thought about it. "Ok", I told him, "If you can clean the whole floor upstairs properly, then I will let you use the vacuum cleaner."
He was so pleased and spent nearly half an hour cleaning, moving furniture to get to the dust, checking for dirt. By the end he asked me if he could stop as his arms were hurting. I checked his handiwork. "That's pretty good," I told him. He beamed, "Can I help you again?" he asked. "Of course you can!" I said - inside I was grinning from ear to ear. "Great,' he replied, "that was more fun than playing Skylanders!"
If only we had known yesterday we could have saved a fortune in Hamleys!
Although, afterwards he first person they wanted to show their presents too was their uber cool cousin. (who by now was probably being severely reprimanded by his Dad for being suspended from school. But that's another story.)
The upshot is that, due to the fact we live in the middle of nowhere, cousin M has decided that he would like to come back for his study break. Obviously, he managed to get quite a bit of studying done whilst he was with us - well, whilst the children were at school anyway. So we look forward to seeing him then, providing his mother doesn't barbecue him over the Easter break.
The remainder of the weekend has been spent in domestic bliss... well, we like to think of it as bliss, in reality I cleaned out all the animal cages - the kids have practically a zoo as you know - oddly enough they don't seem to show the same enthusiasm for their pets when it comes to cleaning out time, leaving me with up to my elbows in guinea pig/rabbit droppings and smelly sawdust. Does Papa help? well usually I would say no, its usually about this time that he finds something really important that needs doing immediately. However, yesterday he decided to help TJ clean out his guinea pig... however, rather than taking the cage into the garage, as we would normally do, he decided that he would clean it out in TJ's bedroom... Needless to say, the bedroom ended up covered in sawdust and stank to high heaven.
I brought the hoover up to clean the mess left behind by TJ and Papa... and Benjy the guinea pig of course. TJ took one look at the vacuum cleaner and suddenly asked me if he could use it. I looked at him, "Are you sure you want to clean the floor?" I asked. "Please, please, can I do it?" He was practically begging me. I put on my best 'I'm not sure' look. "I don't know if you'll be able to clean the whole room," I said. "I can," he implored, 'I can do the whole upstairs if you want."I thought about it. "Ok", I told him, "If you can clean the whole floor upstairs properly, then I will let you use the vacuum cleaner."
He was so pleased and spent nearly half an hour cleaning, moving furniture to get to the dust, checking for dirt. By the end he asked me if he could stop as his arms were hurting. I checked his handiwork. "That's pretty good," I told him. He beamed, "Can I help you again?" he asked. "Of course you can!" I said - inside I was grinning from ear to ear. "Great,' he replied, "that was more fun than playing Skylanders!"
If only we had known yesterday we could have saved a fortune in Hamleys!
