Tea Room the 37th. A new one. Needs fitting out.

[UniS]

Here is Tea Room the 37th.
A new one.
Needs fitting out.

Please help.

I'm sure there's Nutella somewhere, trinity, you just might have to rummage around a bit.

I'm currently on leave from Guiding but have been a (US) Girl Scout and a Guides and Senior Section leader. SmallBoy will become a (US) Boy Scout in a few years (he's still too young yet).

SB will be five at the end of the month. I'm hoping that now he's hit school age and I look old and haggard people will stop asking me about plans for a second. Surprisingly I still get asked occasionally.

I appear to have a rotten cold so I recommend people don't get too close. We've been out every day this week, mostly doing things that I can toss SB into and say "Right, go have fun!" so it means I can just sit on the side and quietly die. Today's the only "at home" day but he wants to go ride his bike so we're going to walk into town. I suspect the exercise, fresh air and sun will do me some good.

UniS, SB can travel on both/either passport. However, the Americans are strict and they demand require you to enter the US on the American passport if you are a citizen. There's even a section on the Embassy site saying that if your passport is expired but you have a full validity other nationality passport you cannot enter the US on it and you'll have to apply for an emergency passport. I am bricking it, to be honest, because I still don't have his new (renewal) passport yet. I am going to apply for my British passport in the new year. My American one expires in 2016 and I don't fancy having to go through the Home Office (again!) to get the papers put into my American passport saying I have a right to be here. I have citizenship and am entitled to a passport, I might as well go and get it. Sometimes I think we need a special bag just for all of the documents we travel with because there are so many between us (despite having my LTR document in my US passport I often travel with a copy of my British citizenship certificate just in case). I nearly got turned away at UK Border Control once, I don't fancy that happening again!

My Little Brother will be here in two weeks YAY! and is heading back home a few days before we go (he's spending a week here and then is off to the continent to go to the art museums). He's bringing over SmallBoy's (Christmas present from my parents') telescope so we don't have to try and hide it over Thanksgiving. I can't wait!

Anyone fancy a while I have the kettle on?

Ohh I'll have a brew if kettles on.
Tonight I'm helping at cubs!

Hi trinity, pretty sure the nutella is somewhere around. If its looking a bit low when you find it just ask mellors ( our butler) to put it on the shopping list . if it has foot prints in that will be entirely the fault of the naked Mohawk babies(nmb) who arrived in the tea room on some carrot cake years ago and have grown up into Nac Mac Feegles.

Hehehe

I have always been very clear that there will only be one. We hadn't planned to have any. My sister was going to have a few but also seems to have stopped at 1.

Horrible commute today ... 2.5 hours there, 2 hours back

Hello again, trinity. I'm a Brownie leader too, although I am increasingly fed up with it and am seriously thinking about quitting. Mustn't deter UniS from helping at Cubs, though!

Great that your brother is coming, Scout. And have you started the countdown to your trip back home?

Thats an horrific commute trinity! Its not normally that long is it ?

Tonight’s helping at cubs was sort of because its my turn on the parent helper rota, except its actually next week, but this week and next week are both prep sessions for the cubs entry in our local carnival. And the parent helper on rota for tonight is rather involved in a different local youth group also doing carnival.... So I said I'd do both , Tonight I was getting one six to make ( sewing felt) hats for their costumes. While Arkala had the other six making Bows ( but not arrows) . Next week they will swap over.

That sounds like fun, UniS. Will the cubs be in a parade? Walking or on a float?

walking group in a parade. Hopefully we will be a loud walking group despite being a small group. just need to disguise a wheelbarrow as sherwood forest and fit a large sound system!

That sounds lovely. How fantastic that the Cubs get to be part of a community event.

No, not normal. Recently swopped to 3 days at home, 2 days in the office. Usually about an hour by car

Its quite small community to be holding a large carnival, I sometimes think there are more people IN the parade than are left to watch ...

1 hour commute sounds more doable. Tomorrow I have a one hour commute to volunteer as a sports coach. If I remember and come home the indirect route my commute home might not take 2 hours like it did last week. A mix of road works, lane closures on teh one bit of duel carriage way for hedge trimming and going thro a town centre at 11am....

Morning all! anyone while the kettle's on?

SmallBoy looked very much the part of Postman Pat on Friday as he went off to deliver his party invitations -- he was wearing a red fleece sweatshirt, a foam postman hat, a red felt satchel type bag over his shoulder with envelopes sticking out, wearing his (round-ish) glasses and riding his (red) bike. He still has one invitation to deliver but he's heard back from four of his friends already (he's inviting eight) and he's over the moon. However, he's now concerned "What if they forget to come to my party even though they said they'd come?" Is this a normal 4-almost-5 year old worry?

My worry is that I haven't planned enough to keep them occupied/from killing each other. It's a two hour party with a picnic (I figure the picnic would take half-an-hour) at the end bit of the party. I'm going to have a think and come up with a few back-up games, just in case.

My brother will be here in just over a week -- YAY!!!! My PiL are going to watch SB for me a couple of days while my brother and I go sightseeing and art viewing in the Big Smoke. YAY!

Rainy day here. Its meant to rain the next few days. I hope it's not raining on Thursday when we have Forest School -- SB doesn't have any waterproof trousers that fit (though he has a rain jacket/coat and wellingtons as well as welly-socks.

Ys please to a cuppa.
Tipping it down with rain here. I think I will go for a bike ride on the turbo today rathrrvthan a real outdoors ride.

DH has a birthday this week. On his birthday boy and I will be out at cubs when DH gets home, we then do a parental madison handsling after cubs and I go straight out for my dance practise... When on earth should we do birthday cake etc? Breakfast seems wrong time for cake.

normal worry, especially if he's ever read Kipper's Birthday ...? His friends forget the day / get muddled up

DH suggests we just forget about cake.... This is not an option. Cake will happen somewhen.
Boy has plans for cake , including candles, green marzipan and a cricket pitch.

Parents Evening tonight ... all good and apparently she socialises very well too (which is v important to me)

Parents evening last night... Doing fine academically, needs reassuring that he can tell class teacher about stuff that happens in the playground. Also discussed what project he might be set when the rest of the class go off on a trip he doesn't want to go on ( and why he doesn't want to go).

ohh marzipan is now green, cakes will get made tomorrow evening. Not sure when all will be revealed and candles lit.

sickness bug going round school so they closed her class at 2pm after 6 never made it in and 8 had been sent home ... OMG how do you home edders do it??? She argued every point, wouldn't listen and generally grumped her way through some Mathletics. My hat is off ....

Hello. Anyone here?

::proffers and ::

Cake? Yes please.
This wild n windy weather is a bit blergh. Think I might do my tax return instead of anything more outdoors.
Will pop back for elevenses.

Here you go. Take your pick:

There's a lot of wind and wuthering here, too. I'm having a lie-in.

Lie in sounds nice. I get one of those on Friday when half term starts.

Yes, it's lovely. DH got The Girl up and off to school and I am luxuriating under the duvet while the wind howls outside.

How's the tax return going?

Lie-in? What's that?

Wet and windy here, too. SB is going to stay with a friend for an hour while I sort out the car -- I need to clear the boot and pack it up for our week away. We're in PiLshire for the next week and I need to take SB's birthday stuff, presents to pack for the States, presents to leave in PiLshire, cake making stuff, etc. I'd normally put some of it in the footwells so it didn't slide around (big boot) but we're giving SB's BFF & BFF'sLB rides to/from swimming class (as is our weekly routine) so I can't have jute bags of Christmas puddings and cake making things where they sit. Normally I could sort the car and keep an eye on SB but the weather would make it a challenge.

I'm keeping an eye on the developments at Heathrow. BrotherScout is due to depart the US this evening to land in England in the morning. I'm sure all of these cancellations today will have a knock-on effect.

I'm not sure if SB is more excited about the family "party" (read, cake!) on Saturday, his actual birthday, his birthday party with friends or UncleScout coming from America to see him.

SB's US Passport securely in my possession. I feel much relief.

A lie-in is a fringe benefit of (in combination) an older child, a DH who wakes and gets up early during the week and a day off work!