Back in da house

The boy is back! A little bit smelly and with a trolley full of muddy clothes (I swear it weighed 5 kilos more than before!) but happy and content. He did say he missed us but after some hugs and a little bit of storytelling, he asked if he could turn on the TV... I guess he missed that too ;).

The homemade bread turned out ok, but the vegetable burger that went with the french fries was gross (so the boy says). They stayed up late and the boys slept on the first floor so he complained about the girls not having to run up and down any stairs. I didn't get much more out of him, so I can't give you any more info. I suppose I will find out more during the coming weeks.

Today is mother's day. I woke up to some lovely presents from my lovely family:

From my son: my very own personalized tote bag!
Handsewn and please pay attention to the tiny blue dolphin he added :)

From my daughter: a 'liefdesbord' (or love boardgame)

Roll the dice and find out what chores your child will help you with (I'm going to write a thank you note to the teachers, I think this is the best mother's day gift ever!)

And from my dear husband: another book by Stephenie Meyer.
More sleepless nights are ahead ;)

Happy Mother's Day!

MOO!

Robin will be leaving on a three day farm holiday with his classmates tomorrow! They'll be sleeping in bunkbeds, taking care of the animals, doing nature walks and bake their own bread (which they'll have to eat for dinner, so they'd better pay attention!).

I have Wednesdays off which means I'll be able to go and wave him goodbye.

Yikes. This means he'll be gone for two whole nights. He's only ever been away for two nights in his life, and now he'll be gone for two nights in a row! But... I know he's going to have the time of his life there (despite the gloomy weather forecast) and that makes it OK for me too (see how I'm trying not to sound like the overprotective mother? I don't think I'm doing a good job though ;). I think I'm gonna go and put some bandaids in his bag. You know. Just in case ;)

My birthday boy

Robin turned 9 yesterday (I still find that hard to believe - where did my little boy go?).

In the morning we went to the store to pick up his present: rollerblades! He had practice rollerblades (with an extra wheel at the back) for a while and we felt he was ready for the real thing. We also bought him a new helmet and protective gear. They seem to be a hit since he has had them on his feet for almost two days in a row now.

The moment he put them on his feet he rolled away swiftly as if he had never done anything else. The practice pair has new been inherited by Caitlin.

In the afternoon we had a Scary Party with some friends of his class. Robin must have caught my Twilight bug since he wanted to be a vampire. Caitlin wanted to be a little witch.

A very pretty little witch I think.

And here's Robin with his best friend who came as a witch but once I got my face paint out she wanted to be a vampire too. Could I be witnessing my own vampire love story? I hope she remains human. She's a lot prettier without that face paint!

PS: Yes, I was dressed up too: you can see part of my witch hat in the background.

Playing it cool

I was flipping through my digital pictures and came across this one:





It was taken in 2005 and it instantly made me think of The Terminator (maybe a little Terminator since he was only 5 at the time). "I'll be back." I can just hear it in my head ;)


Well, my little Terminator is turning 9 tomorrow. Can you believe it? I still have to decorate the house for the party tomorrow but lately it just seems like I get nothing done and that includes blogging :(


He wanted 'something scary' so I'll have to dig out my Halloween stuff. I already asked the children who are coming to dress in their scariest costume so we might be in for a few surprises when the doorbell rings tomorrow!


No matter how much fun these parties usually are, I'm always glad when it's 5 pm and the doorbell rings again meaning that the parents are back to pick up their children.

I promise to keep you posted!

Wrapped and ready

They are just waiting to be delivered to the post office!

I solemnly swear...

that I will send out my Pay it forward gifts tomorrow!

I'm so sorry I kept you waiting for so long! With a little luck they'll be arriving on your doorsteps early next week.

Meanwhile I leave you with a - late - Easter picture:

(let the funny boy not distract you of our new kitchen in the background)

Such loveliness so early in the morning, complete with 'bed hair'. I wish I could pull that off.

Change

Doesn't she look different to you? To me it seems like she grew up overnight.

Maybe you should look a little closer....

Can you see?

Last Friday Caitlin lost her first tooth after it had been wobbling in her mouth for only a few weeks. It happened in school and she was afraid she had lost it since she couldn't find it in the little paper handkerchief the teacher wrapped it in. Luckily I found it, it was so tiny one could easily miss it, sticking to the corner of the handkerchief.

When she went to bed she put the little box with her precious tooth underneath her pillow and in the morning, well what do you know, the toothfairy had left her a shiny coin!

The end of an era... but also the start of something new. My little girl is not so little anymore...