tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-86614112024-03-08T00:51:16.903+00:00Stephen and Anne's life in pinkStephen and Anne try to raise their two daughters in Cambridge (UK).Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.comBlogger317125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-61693497240197141922017-09-20T13:31:00.002+01:002017-09-20T13:31:52.994+01:00ContrastFor the last three nights ThingOne and ThingTwo have chosen the same two books at bedtime: Luke Skywalker's Amazing Story (which ThingOne reads to us) and Paddington Bear.<br />
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The Star Wars book is aimed at kids starting to read, probably intended to get boys reading.<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-70256329349331679222012-10-26T06:14:00.002+01:002017-09-20T13:12:17.749+01:00Lounge gymnastics<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
On Tuesday, ThingOne went to Anne in tears. It was clear she'd done something she felt guilty about. She told her mum she'd pulled the curtain off the rail in the front room (which to be fair to her wasn't well attached).</div>
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Anne asked how it happened, and ThingOne insisted she was just doing her jigsaw, but admitted she may have pulled on the curtain a bit too hard. This seemed a bit suspicious, but we didn't go into it much further.</div>
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Later that evening we had the bright idea of checking the Gmail folder to which our IP camera sends photos when it detects motion. It seems ThingOne has an odd approach to jigsaws...</div>
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<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-16275337432869206272012-10-20T16:19:00.003+01:002017-09-20T13:25:33.653+01:00ThingOne's WorldOn 30th August this year we drove to Knebworth Park to spend the bank holiday with my mum, and on the way there I played ThingOne 'Yakko's World', a song from the TV show Animaniacs, where a cartoon character sings the nations of the world to the tune of the Mexican Hat Dance. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x88Z5txBc7w" target="_blank">Here's a link to the video</a>.<br />
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I thought she'd enjoy it, and sure enough ThingOne was very taken with the song. Having recently learned that I could list the states of the US in alphabetical order (a party trick I learned at Uni - wild times) she asked if we could learn the words to 'Yakko's World'. I agreed we could do it together, and we started that evening. At the start I wondered how far we'd get into it. It did seem like quite a challenge.<br />
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Nearly two months later, and we've done it. We learned a line at a time, and continually tested each other and recited it. ThingOne's enthusiasm rarely flagged, and she worked at it a lot. I'd go through it in my head as I swam lengths, I'd sing it in the shower, and I'd hear ThingOne going through it in her bed at night.<br />
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The song is from 1993, so isn't up to date, and even given its age favours scansion and neatness over accuracy and completeness. I found a good discussion of its inadequacies online (<a href="http://www3.telus.net/greenfish/animaniacs/newworld/" target="_blank">link here</a>). I love the internet. Nevertheless it's an impressive bit of writing.<br />
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So now I present, Yakko's World, or The Nations of The World (as at the time the movie Jurassic Park was released) sung by ThingOne (aged 6):<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/i2-yIsDnmlA" width="560"></iframe><br />
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Is there any benefit to doing this? I certainly didn't have anything other than a fun project in mind when we started. I wondered if I was helping ThingOne by filling her brain with nonsense or distracting her from learning something more important. After the fact, I've justified it to myself thusly:<br />
- it shows her she can learn anything difficult if she puts her mind to it, and that something that seems hard just needs time and effort;<br />
- it shows her that a good memory can to masquerade as intelligence;<br />
- it shows her that it's easier to remember a song that just a list of words;<br />
- she'll have now heard of many of the countries of the world;<br />
- given the way the countries are grouped in the four sections will have some idea what's close to what (this has helped me - my South American knowledge was woeful);<br />
- she'll have a party trick for ever more.<br />
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I've also learned this song, but I'll spare you that video on here.<br />
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A side effect of this project we hadn't really noticed until we'd finished is that ThingTwo (4) has learned much of the song too. The night ThingOne and I learned the last bit ThingTwo did an impromptu rendition of the first two sections (half the song!) The poor girl has had to listen to ThingOne and me singing it for nearly two months, so perhaps it's not surprising it sunk in. Here's her effort. Given her age I didn't make her apologise for the prompting she occasionally needed. <br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="allowfullscreen" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/xE67GpO0M-U" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-56595887461101755972012-10-15T22:44:00.000+01:002017-09-20T13:09:06.135+01:00The boniness of the long distance runnerIn February Anne and I decided to try to be a bit more healthy. We did this by eating better, monitoring portions, drinking less and getting more exercise.<br />
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I started a Couch to 5k training plan, having been inspired by, of all people, <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2011/nov/06/charlie-brooker-becomes-a-runner">Charlie Brooker</a>. I used a similar iOS app to him, which would let me listen to my music or podcasts and occasionally give me instructions. "Run for 30 seconds", "Now walk for a minute", "Stop slouching".<br />
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It got me running for 30 minutes over about three months, and to my surprise I found I quite enjoyed the running. Having taken it up as a way to burn calories so I could eat more cake, I wasn't expecting to enjoy running for the sake of it. I'd liked the convenience of being able to run anywhere, without sticking to the schedule of exercise classes, but in the end it was the relaxation of the time alone and finding new routes which I enjoyed.<br />
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Once I was running 30 minutes (which I assumed was 5k) I decided to challenge myself by entering a 10k run in May. I started tracking my runs with GPS and Run Keeper on iOS, and was surprised to find I was running much faster than I realised, and that getting to 10k didn't involve much more running (I finished my 10k event in 46 minutes).<br />
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I found the running, along with the healthier eating, had meant I'd shedded weight much more, and more quickly, than I intended. My challenge then became how to increase my intake suitably in such a way as not to lose more weight whilst still eating healthily, and ensuring I did other exercise to ensure I didn't end up stick thin with a weedy upper body. I've ended up having to get the waist on my trousers taken in, and buying new clothes in sizes I've not worn since I was in my mid teens.<br />
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Over the summer I consistently ran three times a week, 7k twice in the week and 10k at the weekend. I took to early morning runs, rising at 6am so I could get back before the kids were up. I loved being out at that time, though can't say I enjoyed waking so early. I enjoyed the flexibility of still being able to run whilst on holiday (and had some lovely runs along a river in The Netherlands near to where we were staying).<br />
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I figured I'd do some more 10ks this year, and try a half marathon (21k) next year. But then I got over excited and signed up for the Perkins Great Eastern Run (half marathon) in Peterborough which took place yesterday. I worked out a training plan, figuring that doubling my distance would just be a matter of more of the same.<br />
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I found it a lot harder than that though. As my distances got up (gradually) to 15km and over and over an hour in time I found I needed to adjust what I was doing to ensure I was hydrated and 'fuelled' (i.e. I needed to have a banana and some water before I ran). As the half marathon approached and my training runs went from 17k to 19k my left knee started hurting. I had to ease off and then completely stop running. I'd been planning to ease off anyway as part of my plan in the fortnight before the event, but in the end my tapering became extended. I started swimming more than running to give myself some low-impact exercise.<br />
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So yesterday, with my knee feeling OK, I drove to Peterborough to do the HM. The drive made my knee hurt a lot, so the signs weren't good.<br />
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I always listen to music or podcasts when I run. I recently found that the issue of running with headphones leads to some strong feeling, with some proper runners having a strong dislike of people who do it. Some events ban headphones for safety reasons, but this event was so big it wouldn't have been enforceable so I was OK to use them. I only had one headphone in, so I could listen to music, and Run Keeper cues, whilst still being aware of people around me.<br />
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Someone had lent me a CD of 101 running songs, so to keep things fresh I decided to use that on my run without reviewing which songs were on it. It was a strange mix, and did have the intended effect of keeping me on my toes. There were some tracks I'd never have on my iPod (Katy Perry, Brittany Spears) and some very cliched running songs (Keep on Running), along with some nice surprises. Appropriately for the soundtrack to my run I kept mainly to the middle of the road when I was running.<br />
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My knee ached for the first few miles, but I soon stopped noticing it. Whether that's because it was OK or because I was numb I'm not sure.<br />
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Since training for a 10k I've not seen any point in switching between KMs and miles, so my training has been getting me to the point where I felt I could attempt 21k, rather than 13.1 miles. I split the course in my head into three 7k runs, which seemed to work well. I'd been aiming for a pace of 5 minutes per KM, which would have kept me under 2 hours. However, I soon found I was running faster than that, being caught up and motivated by the runners around me. I thought about slowing down to pace myself better, but am not very good at doing that. By the time I started the final 7k stretch I was starting to feel tired, but also motivated to go on by the feeling of being nearly there.<br />
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My mistake was, having focused on KMs rather than miles, I saw the 11 mile sign and thought "Only a mile to go". I then reached the 12 mile sign and thought "Hang on, there are just over 13 miles in a half marathon. Not 12!" This made the final mile a bit more of a struggle, but I saw my mum, who'd come out to see me finish, when I had a few hundred meters to go, so that boost saw me nicely along the finish line.<br />
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I'd suggest to Anne that she and the kids not come, since I didn't want to be worrying about whether the kids were cold/wet/bored when I was selfishly focusing on me and my aching legs. It was great to have my mum there at the end though. I was handed jaffa cakes, millionaire's shortbread and a banana after I'd finished by some very nice people working at the race. Amazing that such small pleasures can be so welcome.<br />
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I finished in 1 hr 42 minutes and 8 seconds (chip time), which I gather is a good time for a first half marathon, and I was pleased. It was a nice flat course, so a good one to start with. Not very scenic (Peterborough isn't particularly beautiful), but the race was well organised and I enjoyed it a lot. Mum and I went to Nandos for lunch, and I've never felt like I've earned chicken and chips in the same way before.<br />
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When I got home I made the mistake of taking the kids to the park on their bikes. I'd forgotten this mean I'd have to run alongside ThingTwo, who has recently started cycling without stabilisers, and is likely to cycle into trees and fences.<br />
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Today my thighs are killing me, and I'm struggling climbing stairs. I feel good though, and am keen to, after some recovery time, build my runs back up gradually and focus on running without my knee hurting.<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-29611533827274204282012-02-26T08:07:00.000+00:002017-09-20T13:09:46.137+01:00Just four ThingTwo<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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ThingTwo turns four today. She had a party at Cheeky Monkey's play barn yesterday, and was very excited.<br />
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Here's a video I made to celebrate by telling the girls they could choose what they did. It was mostly "play this backwards" and "film this upside down". Given their fondness for gimmicks I've a feeling my kids will eschew <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dogme_95">Dogme 95</a> (the overlayed They Might Be Giants track wouldn't be allowed for a start).<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/o4dCmQBw2wY" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-24142591997319916392012-02-21T22:05:00.001+00:002017-09-20T13:10:12.541+01:00Keep the treats comingThis morning as I made pancakes for the kids I explained why we have pancake day, and told ThingOne about Lent. ThingOne froze.<br />
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"But WE'RE not Christians, so WE don't have to give up treats do we?"<br />
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I confirmed that she wasn't going to have to go without treats until Easter. She visibly relaxed and exclaimed "Phew!"<br />
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Sounds like she could do with making a few sacrifices.<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-66826455658570704052012-01-15T23:03:00.002+00:002017-09-20T13:11:46.154+01:00Birthday magicI was going to write up a post about ThingOne's sixth birthday party on Saturday. I was going to go into some detail on the preparation, the effort we went to, the face painting, Anne creating a cake which would bring ThingOne a little joy, my buying props and learning magic tricks mixed with some whizzy chemical reactions. Fortunately though ThingOne received a journal as a gift, and was keen to write about her party in the first entry, so I'll just recreate that entry here and you can get the skinny on the party from her...<br />
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<i>Saturday 14th January</i><br />
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<i>I had a birthday party. Daddy did a magic show. It was okay. I knew some of the tricks.</i><br />
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Nice for her to have that day saved for posterity.<br />
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<br /><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-38033696742085383552012-01-07T21:53:00.002+00:002017-09-20T13:25:34.205+01:00Great 2011 ThingsHappy new year etc. In the Kent-Taylor house now that Christmas is done we're approaching Birthday Season, with both the kids' birthdays coming up in the next month and a half. As if they haven't had enough excitement.<br />
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In the past I've marked these occasions with <a href="http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLF35E6BAFDE85517C&feature=mh_lolz">videos of their years</a> or <a href="http://youtu.be/YB2EeyG9TLg?hd=1">something else special</a>, but this year I've made a single video of the last year for all of us.<br />
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We did lots of Great Things in 2011 (which is the name of the song on the video; I am clever) and the girls are growing up at an alarming rate. ThingOne turns six (six!) next week, and ThingTwo will soon be four (four!) They're at a great stage, where they can generally play together really nicely. Until one of the feels the least bit slighted and then all hell may break loose. ThingTwo's discovering tantrums, which we're hoping we've put the kybosh on with some firm parenting. I suspect we still have some way to go.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/a9tm8soRLPQ" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-18524698643441369432011-12-24T13:14:00.003+00:002017-09-20T13:28:17.186+01:00ThingOne and ThingTwo's 2011 Christmas message to the nationThingOne and ThingTwo have recorded a message, which says a lot about them and their attitudes to life and Christmas.
Happy Christmas Everyone.
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/nx7-JKn5wIo" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-84212912552821740712011-12-21T15:42:00.003+00:002017-09-20T13:25:35.296+01:00Mistletoe and BathwaterI covertly filmed ThingOne and ThingTwo for six minutes yesterday as ThingOne tried to teach ThingTwo a song. ThingTwo saw me, ThingOne was oblivious. I edited down to one and a half minutes of their (mainly ThingOne's) weirdness.<br />
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In days gone by this would be creepy and frowned upon. It probably still is.<br />
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ThingOne seems rather keen on Mistletoe and Wine.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/zQFqRDuGE6g" width="560"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-38170167344772756182011-12-07T22:19:00.003+00:002017-09-20T13:25:35.833+01:00AmbitionsThingOne asked me about university this evening as she and ThingTwo ate tea. I explained that it's somewhere you go when you're 18 if you want to continue studying, and you can choose what you want to learn.<br />
ThingOne: "I want to learn about the elements."<br />
Me: "Well, that's Chemistry. Mummy did some of that. She did Biochemistry and Genetics. Genetics is about DNA."<br />
ThingOne: "That's what I want to do. Biochemistry and Genetics."<br />
ThingTwo: "What's easiest?"<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-76628437916676348732011-11-24T07:01:00.003+00:002017-09-20T13:25:37.578+01:00Happy Birthday Anne!ThingTwo wrote a message to Anne earlier in the week, with me and ThingOne telling her which letter came next on the last bit of the message.<br />
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The 'biro jgmsy' bit ThingTwo wrote herself. Not sure what it means, but it has since become a favourite phrase of the kids.<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw79H5vBcoZa3UeNMU2C5YgnRE3ZpbdhmyWNjj3S-Q59nMxO4OhKkm6G_AB9qrtLBCGtJGD4SxNA28niahSTaaYKE89ePEUmrGehFeIXyxLP2FnDlpIX2Dm-G4PwhG2w2xoi7t/s640/blogger-image--1289211624.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw79H5vBcoZa3UeNMU2C5YgnRE3ZpbdhmyWNjj3S-Q59nMxO4OhKkm6G_AB9qrtLBCGtJGD4SxNA28niahSTaaYKE89ePEUmrGehFeIXyxLP2FnDlpIX2Dm-G4PwhG2w2xoi7t/s640/blogger-image--1289211624.jpg" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-17670736108149328582011-09-08T22:02:00.001+01:002011-09-08T22:02:58.991+01:00iBlogMaybe I'll use this blog more often now there's an iOS Blogger app.<br />
<div class="separator"style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S31Jnk1ZHfHVDnWybOCLp7RQ-rtKUryyTXYjNMRWHTI2wFw6PCWo3kk4vS5_d-mb_xonnTU8_Q4I5kAnmcj-wm7ot1ddCIq7rd9o8_Fk-xlH_Tee7LTu3BPU4RcXkjUGt_vh/s640/blogger-image--732707700.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg5S31Jnk1ZHfHVDnWybOCLp7RQ-rtKUryyTXYjNMRWHTI2wFw6PCWo3kk4vS5_d-mb_xonnTU8_Q4I5kAnmcj-wm7ot1ddCIq7rd9o8_Fk-xlH_Tee7LTu3BPU4RcXkjUGt_vh/s640/blogger-image--732707700.jpg" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-50799586703909484342011-08-11T18:05:00.003+01:002011-08-11T19:16:51.142+01:00Delivery tracking glee<div id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463448"><span id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463487">I love watching UPS (and similar) parcels wing their way around the world to me, even when (as in this case) I'm in no real hurry to receive the item. It's an aspect of the internet age that gives me (ridiculously) great pleasure. The example below gives me an extra bit of pleasure as I was in Eindhoven last week.<br id="yui_3_2_0_20_1313050654634223" /> </span></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463448"><span id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463487"><br />
</span></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463448"><span id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463487">I especially like with some couriers I can see that it's been delivered to home when I'm at work, click on a link and see Anne's signature from when she signed for it. I then email her and say "I see you signed for my delivery" and freak out my naive Lincolnshire wife with my magic abilities.</span></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463448"><br />
</div><div class="yiv1615374476MsoNormal" id="yui_3_2_0_20_1313050654634185"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMR0bcPvJ7cOPT7JfCdqiosAY0P8a0irBr5PjB_W6COztGEXlzR7XQKd9v4arA1KqNhJnXsT60L7OQv3l5G5bwNGrgxeqy-s-4c96gBu2j7aej9ILehgZS7umb9lbtFjNV7mUY/s1600/traking.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiMR0bcPvJ7cOPT7JfCdqiosAY0P8a0irBr5PjB_W6COztGEXlzR7XQKd9v4arA1KqNhJnXsT60L7OQv3l5G5bwNGrgxeqy-s-4c96gBu2j7aej9ILehgZS7umb9lbtFjNV7mUY/s1600/traking.jpg" /></a></div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; font-size: x-small;"></span></div><div id="yui_3_2_0_20_131305065463448"><br />
</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-16549168990863870582011-06-19T19:46:00.002+01:002017-09-20T13:25:38.123+01:00Swing out sisters<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">Father's Day today and my mum's birthday tomorrow, so my mum visited for a double celebration. Anne wasn't well, but managed to cook a roast dinner and a nice chocolate and chilli (!) pudding, before flaking out in bed this afternoon (thanks Anne).</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We got a swing from Toys R Us and tied it to the apple tree in our garden. The girls seem to be enjoying it, and at bath time this evening ThingOne was impressed with how many bruises she had from banging into the tree.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">ThingTwo's new-found obsession with death, and ThingOne's longstanding obsession with the same came in handy today as I showed them photos of my dad. ThingTwo spent the rest of the day telling people that he's only in my head now. I'm not entirely sure whether she believes that's literally true.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">We've been watching The Sarah Jane Adventures to try to satisfy ThingOne's love of frights, monsters and 'baddies' in a more kid-friendly way. This led today to ThingTwo and ThingOne both trying to be gorgons and turn people into stone. I'm not 100% sure if this is healthy for a 3 and 5 year old, but it's funny, and maybe that's the main thing.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVVNLy-arRIjXv8YqMamghmswPHdBQhECNcdyYMTnz2rVNQrDJ647QCbi5OCy35TLI8nMoJYEItbWJxfeQ2OOq_ABxU-0EJzJoO2S8fBmnFjByJ9T5283amMRYzIhGU81r0Jk/s1600/Jun+11+034.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiZVVNLy-arRIjXv8YqMamghmswPHdBQhECNcdyYMTnz2rVNQrDJ647QCbi5OCy35TLI8nMoJYEItbWJxfeQ2OOq_ABxU-0EJzJoO2S8fBmnFjByJ9T5283amMRYzIhGU81r0Jk/s320/Jun+11+034.JPG" width="320" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvqP8K7dG4aqLwSsDYbPeA3Gugmq_493HgqDYQFaph26-wMcGVvD4X-cgymU5jEUwM2fLqYdK5caKJDzj1fklxDcF3QoC0QFlR5zwu7TazdUumJxpb89FlG1dYN5slLLMc5uz/s1600/Jun+11+008.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEijvqP8K7dG4aqLwSsDYbPeA3Gugmq_493HgqDYQFaph26-wMcGVvD4X-cgymU5jEUwM2fLqYdK5caKJDzj1fklxDcF3QoC0QFlR5zwu7TazdUumJxpb89FlG1dYN5slLLMc5uz/s320/Jun+11+008.JPG" width="214" /></a> </div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp6_X9xOW7RV3lBWwYHje7XF27_km6Bb65AEaKGo64rJW75yqXegbrY5uwt1A17Il-SjCz1w0yXbaprb7q_FTHEXEc4LFyY9ZxHQgukpqu9_T82Zq4RCv6A4dUJJfQRACOQlw/s1600/Jun+11+011.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="214" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhSp6_X9xOW7RV3lBWwYHje7XF27_km6Bb65AEaKGo64rJW75yqXegbrY5uwt1A17Il-SjCz1w0yXbaprb7q_FTHEXEc4LFyY9ZxHQgukpqu9_T82Zq4RCv6A4dUJJfQRACOQlw/s320/Jun+11+011.JPG" width="320" /></a></div><br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSd-iKbsX3oaygkci7lMbwxnuQulSH_cVcXhpg5Uria66b78ZiSV-28IKtjhoNlFPGyS-R6FrX9S0jAGsRk6-dgDa_iQV0HWKyTqlYOVRH8G1unj17NiVKu58j9HuXLcj467F/s1600/Jun+11+062.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiJSd-iKbsX3oaygkci7lMbwxnuQulSH_cVcXhpg5Uria66b78ZiSV-28IKtjhoNlFPGyS-R6FrX9S0jAGsRk6-dgDa_iQV0HWKyTqlYOVRH8G1unj17NiVKu58j9HuXLcj467F/s320/Jun+11+062.JPG" width="214" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-91335997159763363652011-06-17T18:43:00.000+01:002011-06-17T18:43:15.610+01:00Tickle timeHere's a video of Tickle Time, before the evening bath. And we wonder why they're not calm for bed...<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/Gw0jvGIYpLU" width="425"></iframe><br />
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Video <a href="http://youtu.be/Gw0jvGIYpLU">here</a> also if it doesn't appear above.<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-55480823968101363952011-05-26T08:00:00.001+01:002017-09-20T13:11:51.748+01:00Holiday in SuffolkIn April we went on our now-traditional spring holiday around Norfolk and Suffolk. We stayed near Beccles, on the border of the two, and it took us a bit of time to work out which county we were in (it was important to ThingOne we found out).<div><br />
</div><div>We were very lucky with the weather, and had a really good time. We took the kids' bikes with us, and ThingOne made good progress towards learning to ride without stabilisers (she's since figured it out).</div><div><br />
</div><div>Here's a video of our time there, which slightly breaks my usual rule of keeping these under three minutes.</div><div><iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="349" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/6lfaip-EbqI" width="560"></iframe></div><div>(It's <a href="http://youtu.be/6lfaip-EbqI">here</a> if you can't see the video.)</div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-18240486223601689522011-02-27T22:56:00.001+00:002017-09-20T13:36:15.247+01:00ThingTwo's big big-birthday weekend<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNdxZHkm0ueg_Cmohd5EJlTXpfo-u5O9oHVxfZpYGY4jP_FEl9qzz3NTBH7F7oPsl73WCmA4UteYWnkHf0BDKtjirCJN45XGX0ed1W3z9-eMW5-C7JnZM4NoBHEmPbFcVoRoU/s1600/Feb+11+315.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGNdxZHkm0ueg_Cmohd5EJlTXpfo-u5O9oHVxfZpYGY4jP_FEl9qzz3NTBH7F7oPsl73WCmA4UteYWnkHf0BDKtjirCJN45XGX0ed1W3z9-eMW5-C7JnZM4NoBHEmPbFcVoRoU/s320/Feb+11+315.JPG" width="241" /></a></div>
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I hope we gave ThingTwo a weekend to remember. She jumped in puddles, had a mini party thrown for her, including face painting, watched Dumbo, went swimming with her family, went out for lunch with Granny KT, had a visit from her Auntie Lindsay and Uncle Chris, and ran into a door frame cutting both her cheek and her chin. She's the girl who has everything!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguG4-dB2s8GWvzECkMmR3X0VjpYHJq9quFgwK4rPW9v0kP-nLSgVuesly1cDjoWl_qIdE97L29z_MEuKOA7ToStX3h8QfFPb2Ei7Hk07cGMhe0SwdbOAF8vVX_bUpjbfXfIJOS/s1600/Feb+11+247.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEguG4-dB2s8GWvzECkMmR3X0VjpYHJq9quFgwK4rPW9v0kP-nLSgVuesly1cDjoWl_qIdE97L29z_MEuKOA7ToStX3h8QfFPb2Ei7Hk07cGMhe0SwdbOAF8vVX_bUpjbfXfIJOS/s400/Feb+11+247.JPG" /></a> </div>
She got out of bed on Saturday morning and staggered straight to the height chart on the side of her wardrobe where we measure the girls at six month intervals. She was a little distressed she hadn't grown noticably. "Why I not big?" Little oddball.<br />
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In bed on Saturday evening she was concerned that all her toes weren't now suddenly big toes. I can only begin to imagine what she thought would happen to her on her third birthday. We've been telling her for a while she'd be a bigger girl when she was three. Not hard to lay the blame firmly at our door.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWj_ahIHLIHV6o25FzmClFL5DOV6YzG4eS4SC8bjCtjceUqR5ym_5koTmpyWiY9aizkIHOEI0HIIA0V4dtmBCAGG21EPh43CMBgaKpL6G_afd93mCFL1b65tlAtiscHULajm8/s1600/Feb+11+328.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGWj_ahIHLIHV6o25FzmClFL5DOV6YzG4eS4SC8bjCtjceUqR5ym_5koTmpyWiY9aizkIHOEI0HIIA0V4dtmBCAGG21EPh43CMBgaKpL6G_afd93mCFL1b65tlAtiscHULajm8/s400/Feb+11+328.jpg" /></a> </div>
She is now planning her fourth birthday party, and asked me this afternoon to write some invites for Lindsay and Chris.<br />
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<a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 50% transparent; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div>
<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-13310496627441014912011-02-26T02:00:00.003+00:002017-09-20T13:35:03.051+01:00Happy 3rd Birthday ThingTwo!ThingTwo turns three today. We have a fun weekend planned for her, with a mini party on Saturday (which will include face-painting - this is all she seems to care about), and family coming over on Sunday.<br />
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I've been looking through video from the last year to put together three minutes of clips from the last year (below), and it's been fun for me to see her changing over the year, and hard to distill it down to three minutes. There seemed to be lots of dancing, nudity, playgrounds, playing with ThingOne and, more recently, incessant talking. I note she starts and ends this video dancing with her sister, wearing the same dress. She also does a fair impression of Terry Jones's piano playing.<br />
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Happy birthday big girl!<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="390" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/vwmJBohc2mM" title="YouTube video player" width="640"></iframe><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-4037614497808533512011-02-25T18:30:00.001+00:002017-09-20T13:25:39.153+01:00Duxford War MuseumWe took the kids to Duxford Imperial War Museum today, the last day of half term. We met up with a friend, Liz, and her two sons, and the girls played really nicely with them.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbe2H5LUCZI3scis2-NlluI2D8mBojDMkz1lhC2eXPc0KVyUqfqDQ91J08AKzf6QrvaJUt-dxBU_zTO_g9dZIFm8tMlSIMyS3-vLRH6Gk2woGkE_gm6RfkRAPGDF9S55xCXCuH/s1600/Feb+11+052.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjbe2H5LUCZI3scis2-NlluI2D8mBojDMkz1lhC2eXPc0KVyUqfqDQ91J08AKzf6QrvaJUt-dxBU_zTO_g9dZIFm8tMlSIMyS3-vLRH6Gk2woGkE_gm6RfkRAPGDF9S55xCXCuH/s400/Feb+11+052.JPG" /></a> </div>The planes and weaponry acted mainly as a majestic but violent backdrop for the kids to run around in wide-open spaces.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5LwYux7h78oWKhPbEc3w1YQ6T1tDoZIAA5y1swUf6IGRkA__U81p7MNxDjK2OUeZPF3ZQ8NKtq_pkCJFrHT48nGzs84-JDoYF2Tq8GMe2UKr1jJuqGaewtixcASvDJ7znRTa/s1600/Feb+11+066.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgC5LwYux7h78oWKhPbEc3w1YQ6T1tDoZIAA5y1swUf6IGRkA__U81p7MNxDjK2OUeZPF3ZQ8NKtq_pkCJFrHT48nGzs84-JDoYF2Tq8GMe2UKr1jJuqGaewtixcASvDJ7znRTa/s400/Feb+11+066.JPG" /></a> </div>The girls were shattered when we got home, so we watched Kung Fu Panda on DVD while ThingTwo asked for snacks ever five minutes.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFe2z6mU5IL9koTiuUdutGl_pHNEmU259mDuD-V1jpfSRiIBIwBZZjpFmTE9WR9nko-33V1hGJEUz2UbE-fny0WOqy4xv2fa4vWFVezCiUn67GhCQEvld4KD856kGlWO-XLA9u/s1600/Feb+11+072.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFe2z6mU5IL9koTiuUdutGl_pHNEmU259mDuD-V1jpfSRiIBIwBZZjpFmTE9WR9nko-33V1hGJEUz2UbE-fny0WOqy4xv2fa4vWFVezCiUn67GhCQEvld4KD856kGlWO-XLA9u/s400/Feb+11+072.JPG" /></a> </div><br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9D0H3H6oKO38iaPsne3S3xibhcUdd-NHKUIuWm90jB7fciraWy-Ur3HR3fE0EnFrhqMUktUg_SIHbdNC-kfHZZYcNrBtuM_d7lu48HisjSWHnRWmN56c2ZP1TB2jRUdOweQdO/s1600/Feb+11+103.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9D0H3H6oKO38iaPsne3S3xibhcUdd-NHKUIuWm90jB7fciraWy-Ur3HR3fE0EnFrhqMUktUg_SIHbdNC-kfHZZYcNrBtuM_d7lu48HisjSWHnRWmN56c2ZP1TB2jRUdOweQdO/s400/Feb+11+103.JPG" /></a> </div><div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 50% transparent; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-71952814933597222732011-02-25T17:15:00.002+00:002017-09-20T13:14:41.667+01:00Hide and seek FAILObviously if ThingTwo faces away from us we won't be able to see her.<br />
<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3QUd8MakH1__qCYvpBj9xvnqIeTyh3p4_c87Wm5mFYVAN4kvDzmVKylp3aozlmFx2shialw19jJo8Xw2DJ9VidkCVLl5722QupzsM_rnCHrXnc13V3pjBG3u0xsr5aqsV6X7/s1600/Feb+11+046.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEip3QUd8MakH1__qCYvpBj9xvnqIeTyh3p4_c87Wm5mFYVAN4kvDzmVKylp3aozlmFx2shialw19jJo8Xw2DJ9VidkCVLl5722QupzsM_rnCHrXnc13V3pjBG3u0xsr5aqsV6X7/s400/Feb+11+046.JPG" /></a></div><br />
It's like Hide and Seek played in the movie Don't Look Now.<br />
<div style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://picasa.google.com/blogger/" target="ext"><img align="middle" alt="Posted by Picasa" border="0" src="http://photos1.blogger.com/pbp.gif" style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 50% transparent; border: 0px none; padding: 0px;" /></a></div><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-76945875686046592242011-02-20T16:51:00.002+00:002017-09-20T13:25:40.865+01:00Time for some harsh truthsThis morning ThingOne asked me about the war memorial in Woodhall Spa as we walked past it. (We're here visiting Anne's mum.)<br />
<br />
I explained that it was there to remember people who died in two big wars, one of which took place not long before her grannies were born.<br />
<br />
L:"Was there a baddy?"<br />
S:"Sort of. America and France were on our side, along with some other countries, and they were at war with Germany, Italy, and some others. The leader of Germany was a particularly bad man."<br />
L:"Were all the Germans baddies?"<br />
S:"To the English they might have been, but it was more that they were following the orders of some bad people."<br />
L:"Who won the war?"<br />
S:"We did."<br />
L:(Quietly) "Yessss!"<br />
L:"And did the baddy die."<br />
S:"Yes, he died at the end of the war."<br />
L:"How did he die? Did the English kill him?"<br />
S:"Er, no, not quite." (Why do I get drawn in?)<br />
L:"So how did he die?"<br />
S:"He killed himself when he realised he'd lost the war."<br />
L:"Really? How?"<br />
S:"He shot himself with his gun."<br />
L:"Oh."<br />
<br />
Followed by silence.<br />
<br />
I think I may have gone too far.<br />
<br />
Suddenly ThingOne's almost-three year old sister ThingTwo piped up. "You can't KILL YOURSELF!" and then laughed hysterically.<br />
<br />
I'm glad ThingTwo was enjoying herself. ThingOne was still a little shell shocked.<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-50045665618843829552011-01-11T01:00:00.006+00:002017-09-20T13:25:41.381+01:00Happy 5th Birthday ThingOne!<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCl-pDf7sUo48HdLBGmG8kE0CKqd6VaVrPWaRNono_brnkgTSW4zN4gTB2K4i-ybShZxpK7EoXUbUsb7dKpGd-IoI0Y4PHnX_CRawGrf3C7bHwlOKMZaZlWnszyuyAWFdtn1_N/s1600/Jan+11+135.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiCl-pDf7sUo48HdLBGmG8kE0CKqd6VaVrPWaRNono_brnkgTSW4zN4gTB2K4i-ybShZxpK7EoXUbUsb7dKpGd-IoI0Y4PHnX_CRawGrf3C7bHwlOKMZaZlWnszyuyAWFdtn1_N/s400/Jan+11+135.JPG" /></a> </div>
<br />
Today ThingOne turns five.<br />
<br />
I 'had a moment' when getting her clothes out one morning a few weeks ago when I checked the label (to ensure it wasn't one of ThingTwo's tops) and saw the age 5-6 on it. How did I become the parent of a nearly-five year old? It's a tired cliché to say that time marches on without us being able to hold it back, but it certainly feels that way.<br />
<br />
For today though, it's all about celebration, and making sure our little chimp has a great day. She's already had a great weekend, with a ten-pin bowling trip with friends on Saturday...<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTpqlzvzSNpeJV84gSUipKly3ezJUhEs1yLpDEN0zf3pxLUcc58HCbBsxycDBZVJ0_q2LrgbyZvEFbrV4RRiOnoc2QjS7ue2LD8mt5mukAWfIkQtOaI-tquPz1sbmvB9HgjHP/s1600/Jan+11+099.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560700619318984178" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjGTpqlzvzSNpeJV84gSUipKly3ezJUhEs1yLpDEN0zf3pxLUcc58HCbBsxycDBZVJ0_q2LrgbyZvEFbrV4RRiOnoc2QjS7ue2LD8mt5mukAWfIkQtOaI-tquPz1sbmvB9HgjHP/s400/Jan+11+099.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 400px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 298px;" /></a><br />
...and a butterfly party at our house with a few school friends on Sunday.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDr_I2oE4uEN5QGJGVaLShpiXC5l_fy5bHr_Cx3IZHW224ze25oOTWFxl5l6pjLjlkydMFXeglBNwp8mZ0k0J6zVO9knsXOb-OYQ1COjFnsjxC5x9C7bBFt5ShAQV8niLLvaQ/s1600/Jan+11+143.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiiDr_I2oE4uEN5QGJGVaLShpiXC5l_fy5bHr_Cx3IZHW224ze25oOTWFxl5l6pjLjlkydMFXeglBNwp8mZ0k0J6zVO9knsXOb-OYQ1COjFnsjxC5x9C7bBFt5ShAQV8niLLvaQ/s400/Jan+11+143.JPG" /></a> </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KVXzcrGjHD6-dhaXodAK_ABSuYQDBpA7qxCpTX5s7wRzbrU-6I3V6OdI1DE1iPgROkH4MqvRputh7G57qeH9Y8ELZdeVWoAuNGoFfwQu3wTtzwEzhwe4F8UWh2tnd4nUfaIw/s1600/Jan+11+171.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4KVXzcrGjHD6-dhaXodAK_ABSuYQDBpA7qxCpTX5s7wRzbrU-6I3V6OdI1DE1iPgROkH4MqvRputh7G57qeH9Y8ELZdeVWoAuNGoFfwQu3wTtzwEzhwe4F8UWh2tnd4nUfaIw/s400/Jan+11+171.JPG" /></a> </div>
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<div style="margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMhLA_s7HuYZWRhksZvP5X642A_dyS3iM3fqnihSEjf0Myqie7mFsit8462OLihiKOugm8Vlpa11JuRkxKnI26nBfVsfJigAfd8HjBoPHDkRtujzOFlIAnguHzw51oMIkxtgvS/s1600/Jan+11+205.JPG"><img alt="" border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMhLA_s7HuYZWRhksZvP5X642A_dyS3iM3fqnihSEjf0Myqie7mFsit8462OLihiKOugm8Vlpa11JuRkxKnI26nBfVsfJigAfd8HjBoPHDkRtujzOFlIAnguHzw51oMIkxtgvS/s400/Jan+11+205.JPG" /></a> </div>
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</div>
<br />
<br />
Anne made a butterfly cake, I valiantly tried and failed to organise some party games in the front room while the mums nattered in the back room, child free, and after some food the kids danced around to Roxy Music. ThingOne enjoyed herself, which was the main thing.<br />
<br />
And ThingTwo seemed to have a good time too.<br />
<br />
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfl8Z7Lw3PENiK3JbJGK9PzmKrsDSjha5KKThT8dgUjjw-0GzJtkcCrLKPc1jrU8SqNGQB6MzV7y4_W1LUGEaNTauHrzxBkzG9vyX8noAKQ-XEa9qOfhtPg4cSiomOYE-L4qf/s1600/Jan+11+217.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5560698892049758354" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhMfl8Z7Lw3PENiK3JbJGK9PzmKrsDSjha5KKThT8dgUjjw-0GzJtkcCrLKPc1jrU8SqNGQB6MzV7y4_W1LUGEaNTauHrzxBkzG9vyX8noAKQ-XEa9qOfhtPg4cSiomOYE-L4qf/s400/Jan+11+217.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 268px; margin: 0px auto 10px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-77699971152867022182010-12-24T19:42:00.009+00:002017-09-20T13:25:41.900+01:00Christmas at homeWe were concerned that our planned trip to Liverpool to spend Christmas with family this year might be threatened by the bad weather, but we needn't have worried. Even if the weather had been fine the illness (presumably flu) which has hit ThingOne and Anne hard in the last week would still have forced us to reluctantly cancel our trip - sorry Kerry, Mark and Jo.<br /><br />And so we've quarantined ourselves at home for a few days. ThingOne seems to be mostly on the mend, though is still exhausted (which unfortunately means grumpy some of the time), but Anne is still completely wiped out. We're hoping to venture out when fit enough, but for the moment we're going to make the most of a smaller Christmas with just the four of us.<br /><br />Today I've been dashing round the supermarket to get some supplies for an unplanned Christmas, we've done a treasure hunt in the house, we've tracked Santa on the web, we've watched the Peppa Pig Christmas episode three (three!) times and we've had a fun, if subdued time. At 5.30 we all sat down together to have spaghetti bolognaise. Having dinner so early is odd for Anne and me, but this is outweighed by how much the girls enjoy it when we eat together.<br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpagDKxrmufau1GgMS5wPcqblkpymIWAYFi5b4clgIIPPirmocA2aywc1zRTy59GAQEw-hGrWMrhjIIDt93RifOzOjnIQLceF9pToUoZ6TAhsm7Cy_TBriapu_7AfC2oo8Qijd/s1600/Dec+10+163.JPG"><img style="display:block; margin:0px auto 10px; text-align:center;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 267px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhpagDKxrmufau1GgMS5wPcqblkpymIWAYFi5b4clgIIPPirmocA2aywc1zRTy59GAQEw-hGrWMrhjIIDt93RifOzOjnIQLceF9pToUoZ6TAhsm7Cy_TBriapu_7AfC2oo8Qijd/s400/Dec+10+163.JPG" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5554339278014314450" /></a><br />The girls are in bed now, in their new Christmas pyjamas, desperately trying to sleep lest Santa should skip the house. I'm hoping this will lead to a good night's sleep for us, something we've not had in a while thanks to ThingTwo's messing about in the evenings and also due to the myriad virii and bugs we've recently encountered.<br /><br />Here's a vid of the girls at bed time singing a Christmas song...<br /><br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/XlJLHla-D6I?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/XlJLHla-D6I?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><br /><br />And here's the aborted one I shot first. Whoops!<br /><object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/gixB5uEQ1G8?fs=1&hl=en_GB"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/gixB5uEQ1G8?fs=1&hl=en_GB" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object><div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8661411.post-49415388593955300072010-11-15T16:18:00.006+00:002017-09-20T13:25:42.422+01:00Colour me cheapskateThingOne won a colouring competition at the baby and toddler show that Anne and a friend organised yesterday.<br /><br />ThingOne wasn't there when the results were results were announced, and the prize - a discontinued toddler learning aid, a My First Leappad - was more suitable for her little sister so we decided that that was ThingTwo's Christmas present sorted. The fact that the prize was for a three year old makes it sound like ThingOne's colouring was judged less harshly than it ought to have been, but I'm pretty sure her age was on the entry so it was all above board.<br /><br />This morning we told ThingOne she'd won and gave her some helium balloons that were left over after the show. We felt a little bad about taking away her £10-£20 prize and replacing it with what was essentially litter, but we needn't have done. Having had no idea there were prizes up for grabs (colouring is of course a reward in itself for a four year old), and helium balloons being among the best things in the world at that age, she was very excited. That plus she was able to continually state that she was the best at colouring in (in the world, probably).<br /><br />And so ThingTwo will be getting an unwanted prize as a Christmas present and will, we hope, be just as chuffed.<div class="blogger-post-footer">(Feed from blog at www.stephenkt.co.uk. Videos may not show up in the feed.))</div>Stephenhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16086573487139729039noreply@blogger.com0