Tea parties, puppy dogs and high heels

I downloaded a few pics from my phone and I thought they made a pretty good summary of my week last week.  In the absence of anything better (in terms of blog posts), I thought I would share them with you:

Kate and her BFF are at Teddies.  Which is the junior version of Girl Guides.  Last Monday they had international day and each child had to come dressed as a certain country.  Luckily my quick witted BFF (who just happens to Kate's BFF's mother) said we should go as Japan as both kids had karate suits. 

While Kate was at Teddies, I took the boys for their hair cut. Adam used to be a total nightmare about cutting his hair so for the last 4 years Marko has been using the electric razor thingy (commonly known as the bzzzzt machine) to cut it (ever since we gave up trying to get his hair cut at a hairdresser due to the hysteria and trauma).  I thought that at age 6, he should be ok to go to the hairdresser again.  It was Max's third visit, the first two visits were perfect.  Adam did really well. He moaned a tiny bit but no tears.  Max on the other hand went ballistic.  He screamed so much we had to abandon the hair cut half way through. Not another child!!!  I thought he would be fine!  Unfortunately he has developed a bit of a phobia for doctors / dentists / vets / hairdressers etc. But that's for another post.  Here is Adam with his new hair cut, he thought he looked VERY cool.  Look how skinny he is!  As my mother says "could do with a bit of meat on his bones".  He eats, I promise he does, much more than Kate who is fuller than he is. He is just built like Marko was as a child.

Then, I foolisly tried to cook this week. I really don't know why I bother. I sent the picture below to my friends who can cook asking "how do I cook this?" I followed the instructions and it still came out looking like old, tired, wet grass. I over cooked it. I give up. PS I still ate it. I am not cooking for nothing! 

Max loves dolls and dolls in prams. Because my only daughter is a bit of a tom boy, we don't have any dolls or prams in the house so I bought a doll and a pram for Max. Its amazing how uncomfortable that makes some people. Not that Max cares, he loves his doll and pram.  Unfortunately he has already broken the pram and as he kept racing around like a mad thing with the pram. I am pretty glad it wasn't a real baby in that pram or else Max might have been in trouble.

Max is actually at SUCH a cute age, we are very fond of him. He makes us laugh all the time.  He is starting to say quite a few words now and even puts two words together.  Mostly "Mama look!".  Mama has to look! at a lot of things.  He and Rose ADORE each other.  He calls her "Rho!". Here they are having a tea party next to the pool.

We got a new dog in December (did I tell you that?)  She is a rescue dog.  Part Alsation, part Rotweiller and part Crazy.  Very sweet.  Kate has named her Fluffy.  She is not at all fluffy but one does not argue with Kate. Ever since Fluffy came home, she has slept on Shelly's tail, it is very cute. I am not sure how much longer it will last (poor Shelly!) as Fluffy might turn out to be larger than Shelly. She is a lovely natured dog, even if she is going through the dig everywhere / chew everything / mad-as-a-hatter stage.  Here is she is in December and again in Feb.

Lastly, Max found my old collection of high heels (from when I used to have to dress up to go to work and get in my car and drive through traffic to get to work, instead of stumbling in my PJs from my bedroom to the study) and now insists that we try on different shoes and walk around in our high heels.  Rose has expressed concern about Max's love for prams, dolls and high heels but I say at least we will have one girly child in the house!

That's it.  I better go. Monday morning and the little darlings are about to rise and shine. I hope you all have a wonderful week full of tea parties, puppy dogs and high heels. xx

Comments

[Jeanette]

I am not a mommy, pg by way of IVF expecting in May. You can take lots of pictures of Max to be used as blackmail during later years! Am I horrible? Friends of ours little boy was taught to knit by his Grandma! You should see people faces when the other kids play outside and he takes out his knitting and happily carries on knitting!

[tiah]

I never understand the panic of people when boys play with dolls. When boys grow up we hope, if they have children, that they will be wonderful hands on fathers. Um...pass the doll, then.

[Lindi]

Those are very sad, tired asparagus LOL.

[Marcia (123 blog)]

LOL I can't cook asparagus either. Does stirfrying help?

And may I say, your toes look beautiful!

All the kids are cute but I can vouch for Max's age - he is 2 months older than mine and I swear I would have more if they arrived from 6 months onward :) but this age is just the cutest!

[Bajin]

Max is going to be an awesome father!

[Woody's Girl]

What a cruel, unfair Mommy. You didn't paint Max's toes!

Oh, the injustice of it all...

LOL

[Monique]

The best way to cook asparagus is to fry them in a pan with butter, salt and pepper for about 4 - 5mins they taste divine.

Really am enjoying your blog.

[Hanlie]

I love how your kids each have such distinct personalities! This was a very entertaining post.

[Anna]

Please let me help you with the asparagus! Monique's way above is great, although if you have an outdoor grill, drizzle them with a little olive oil, then sprinkle with salt and pepper. Put them on the grill for maybe 10 minutes - keep an eye on them, don't walk away! You want them al dente - a little firm, but on the tender side. You can sprinkle any seasoning you want on them, they come out amazing. We don't have to remind our 4 year old to eat his when they're prepared this way. And, of course, you want to place them on the grill, perpendicular to the grill lines ;) Tongs help. :)

[marisol]

Asparragus are difficult to cook! Why don't you try something less challenging. Let's say... boiled eggs?
Your shoes do not match, lady! Learn from your son...

[Sara]

Max is adorable!!! No worries about his unconventional tastes. He'll make millions in the fashion industry one day!

(You just gave your foot fetishist stalker a thrill, BTW.)

[jana]

My son also plays with dolls, pushes them in a push-cart pram (Ikea; very sturdy! works indoors and outdoors), and loves to wear his sisters "Princess shoes". Also loves his cars and sumsaulting off of couch. He's all boy - even in his heels and crown.

The easiest way I've found to cook asparagus is to place on a piece of tin foil oiled with a little olive oil. Drizzle oil over the asparagus and sprinkle with sea salt. Put in over at temp. somewhere over 204 degrees. Shut door. Check when you hear sizzling. Even if it looks like crap, it still tastes fab! I am the queen of lazy cooking... everything I do takes minimal effort and minimal clean up.

[One of Two Mommies]

Bah ha ha now that you've gotten all this asparagus advice you'll have to take another shot at it! If the other methods don't pan out just drop them into a dish, cover with boiling water for about 5 min then eat. Simple.

As for Max I would love it! My 2 year old twin boys absolutely adore their dolls and strollers. Santa brought all 3 of my kids new "babies" and they are delighted to freak their grandparents out by pulling up their shirts and breastfeeding their babies.

[Alexicographer]

I love how you write, "Max is actually at SUCH a cute age, we are very fond of him," suggesting, I think, that once he's at a not-cute age you won't be.

For tolerable, simple asparagus in a hurry, just put it in a mostly covered bowl with a few drops (really) of water and/or a smattering (small spoonful) of olive oil or butter, and microwave -- do a minute at a time until you work out how many minutes is right for your microwave, and bear in mind that thinner asparagus will cook quicker than thick (so if you do this more than once, best to err on the side of caution -- easy to add more minutes in the microwave but impossible to subtract them).

[Ashlee]

So silly. No one is worried that Kate is a tomboy and loves monsters and bugs, but they worry about Max enjoying dolls?

My 3yo son loves feeding his babies, giving them baths, likes trying on my shoes and even likes having his toenails painted while I paint mine. It totally freaks his uncles and papas out. My husband tolerates it, but it makes him uncomfortable too. It doesn't mean anything, lol, but there is such a gay fear, especially among older generations. It's so stupid. He's just as likely to be found smashing his cars about and firing his robots and strumming his guitar and looping his toolbelt around his waist. I always tell people there isn't a thing in the world I can do to make my son gay, he either is or isn't, but they'd still rather he not play princesses with his girl cousins just in case.

[Maggie]

Stereotyping is such a drag! I know my dad used to freak out when us girls (3 sisters) used to dress up our brother (only one) in dresses, and he loved playing along. We would do make-up the works, and rest assured, today my brother is an almost 2m hunky and very alphamale anaethesist that still drives women crazy - and he is happily married.

And BTW, cooking asparagus is the wrong term. several posters have given advice - I have a steamer (bought from PnP at almost nothing) pop them in there and steam for about a minute. They come out crunchy and green. The rest in hot water method also works well, especially if you want to use them in salads.

[Lisame]

I love the puppy pics! Cracks me up that the dog is now too big to lay on the tail but still does.

[Beth]

I love, love, love the puppy on Shelly's tail! How sweet is that?! :-)

Also, Max is adorable, and I agree, it's the cutest age (so far)!

As for the asparagus, I grew up in a county where over-cooked vegetables were the norm, so it looks fine to me (and I actually do like it very soft; just the way I was raised). Hope you enjoyed it anyway! :-)