Happy Pancake Day!

The letter

Yesterday we got the letter regarding Ben's admission to school in September.  He got the school we wanted!  Its the school that Susanna goes to, and also the school for which we are in "catchment," so I'd have been surprised if he didn't get in, but you never know...

He will start in September and go from 8:50 until 12.  My understanding is that he will start full days after Christmas.  (I'm not entirely sure because his birthday is near the cut-off for that term, and I'm not certain which side it falls on.  If it falls on the other side, he won't start full days until after Easter.)

Because his preschool is just next door to the primary school, he will probably know most of the kids in his class when he starts.  That will be helpful since it will be a full class - 30 kids!

We can also start thinking about buying his uniform, but I know if we buy the tie now, he won't be able to wait and will want to wear it everyday!

Happy 6th Birthday, Susanna!!

Susanna turned 6 years old today!  We were planning a quiet day at home and maybe around town but ended up going to London to see the aquarium there.  So we ended up with a busy but fun day with her friend and her family.  We got home mid-afternoon and Susanna spent the rest of the day playing with her birthday presents.  Tired Ben fell asleep while snuggling with me around 7:00, but Susanna was ready to stay up all night.  She's in bed now with the promise of more time to play as soon as she wakes up!

Birthday party!

Today we had a party for Susanna's 6th birthday.  She had 9 friends from her class and they all wore pajamas*.  

Our main activity was stuffing feline friends (because "stuffing cats" just doesn't sound right).  We got the empty plushies and bags of fluff, and off they went.  It turned out to be a bit more difficult than anticipated - the openings were a bit small and the limbs and paws were even smaller and hard to reach.  Two of the girls' mums kindly offered to stay and help, and between the three of us and all the girls the cats were all stuffed.

Then we moved on to the food (after running wild through my house for several minutes!) Chef Daddy made fruit salad, pancakes, and sausages.  For dessert we had yogurts, cheeses, and cereal bars.

Then the cake, which was baked by Susanna and Brad and decorated by yours truly:

We handled the cake in traditional English fashion - slices wrapped in napkins and included in the party bags to be enjoyed at home.

We had two games - Pass the Parcel and Stick the Fairy on the Flower.  And then it was about time to go home!  I was worried we'd have a lot of extra time after the planned activities, but in the end it worked out just right.

After her friends left, Susanna opened her presents with a very interested audience of one (Ben) plus Mommy and Daddy.  She got lots of arts and crafts sets.

And now both kids are in bed after a busy day.  This week is half-term so no school or activities for anyone.  We don't have much planned apart from a few playdates and I am looking forward to a relaxing week!

*In case anyone was wondering, yes, I wore pajamas too, but no one took a photo of me.  Sorry.

From my kitchen window

The future neighbour's roof has finally been moved out of my driveway (he had it all out by Monday lunchtime) and is now well on its way to being an actual roof.

Susanna lost a tooth!

After having two wobbly teeth for more than a month, we finally got one out yesterday!  I actually pulled it, but it was very very loose, and the grown-up tooth behind it is well on its way up.  

Susanna put it in her special Tooth Fairy pillow and left it by the window.  And the Tooth Fairy came!  She was so excited to wake up and see.

Her other bottom front tooth is also very wobbly and has sort of moved over to the center of the space.  I promise not to pull this one too, but I know the Tooth Fairy will be back soon!

Snow Day the Third

Susanna's school is closed yet again today!  The third day this week!

Over the hedge

When we signed up for our new house, we didn't initially realize that someone was going to build a house in the back garden.

Well, almost the back garden.  Right behind it.  Their driveway runs through ours and right against our house.

When we were made aware, we were assured that most of the major construction (and related deliveries) would be done by mid-December.

Not quite.

This is what our driveway looks like right now:

I was assured by the owner/builder that this would be gone by the end of the day yesterday (the day it arrived.)  By the afternoon it became clear that it wouldn't be moved that day, but certainly tomorrow.  But then it snowed and no one came to move it.

So not only can I barely park in my driveway, but I have to walk through the snow, slush and muck in my front garden to get to and from my car.

Also, when we first moved in we couldn't see anything going on behind us because of the hedge at the back of our garden (top picture - click to enlarge!).  They have recently built the house high enough that I can see them standing on the top, and they can see right into the back of my house.  I'm not exactly sure where the top floor ends and the roof starts - hopefully that will be below the top of the hedge!

The house is expected to be done in a little less than a year from now...  I imagine the outside will be done soon and the work will move inside.

For now I just have to remember the entertainment value - next week Ben can watch the crane put up the roof!

Another snowy photo

Here is another photo from yesterday of our cars.  This was taken early in the morning, so this was only the beginning of the snow!  Now its Tuesday and I think the snow is more or less over, but schools are still cancelled due to icy roads.

The big snow

Today it snowed all day.  We woke up and saw white outside, and it didn't stop.  I checked to see if school was cancelled around 7:20 and it wasn't yet listed, but at about 7:30 the phone rang with the message that there was no school today.

Not long after that the phone rang again and Susanna was invited to play at her friend's house for the morning.  I walked her over (again, so glad we moved!) and then came home to hang out with Ben.  (Brad worked at home - apparently transportation systems shut down when there is any snow.)  I bribed Ben to walk to the shops for eggs, ice cream, and a toy.  Ben isn't the best walker but he managed to earn his rewards.  

We popped into the toy shop to see if there were any sleds (here they're called sledges) but they had already sold out this morning.  Its not something that is needed here very often, so I doubt there were many available in the shop anyway.  

We walked back home for lunch with Brad, then a nap for Ben.  Brad and Ben went outside in the afternoon and built the snowman while I went to collect Susanna from another friend's house.  (If school is off again tomorrow it will be my turn to host all the girls!)

Its quite lucky to see snow like this in England - there is rarely more than a dusting.  

Can you do this?

PwC Panto

Yesterday we trekked into London for the first time in over two months.  We bought tickets to the PricewaterhouseCoopers 2009 Pantomime, which was Sleeping Beauty.  

PwC staff put on a pantomime production each year.  Not only are the actors all from PwC, but everyone else required to put on a show comes from there as well.  The orchestra, backstage crew, etc. are all from the Firm.  One of their key purposes is to provide free tickets to city children though schools, etc. to see a pantomime in a West End theatre.  They spend a few days in Glasgow, and about five in London, and thats it.  We actually got some of the last seats available for the Saturday matinee when we booked in mid-December.  

Because the show didn't start until 2:30, we had a bit of time to wander around first.  I always pack a snack bag when we go to London, and the kids try to empty it as fast as they can.  Yesterday I packed some sandwiches for them so that Brad and I could eat where ever we wanted without worrying if they'd like it.  We got off the tube near the London PwC office and went to this little park nearby for the kids' picnic.

Brad likes to think that the kids are impressed by his office.
We ended up eating lunch at a hamburger restaurant.  I had a butternut squash burger which was quite tasty.  Ben got a burger too even though he was full after eating half of his peanut butter sandwich.
Then we found a little cupcake bakery that I'd read about.  "Little" is the operative word here - only three tables inside, which were all occupied.  So we stood outside to enjoy our treats.
Then it was time to find the theatre and see the show.
We all enjoyed the show very much and were very impressed by the quality, considering it was all done by PwC employees.  As usual, it wasn't the standard Disney version of Sleeping Beauty, and there were some different characters (including a drag queen as Nanny Nora).  The orchestra, singing and acting were all great, as were the costumes and make-up (we got some up-close looks in the lobby after the show.)  The songs were all contemporary popular songs, like "You're so Lovely", "Dancing in the Streets", "Hey Big Spender", and a modified version of "I'm gonna be (500 Miles)".

The kids are really enjoying all the theatre over here.  We don't have any plans yet to take them to a West End show, but since the smaller, community theatres are so great, there really is no rush.  As long as there is ice cream at intermission, its all good!