Family Life...
If you forget all about Saturday Sky until about 6:25pm, this is all you get:
However, if you have the presence of mind to grab the camera first thing on a Wednesday morning, you could get lucky with this:
Knitting – well it’s happening, but it’s not really bloggable, and it involves mile upon mile of grey ribbing with 3mm needles, so not even the most interesting pictures…
So I shall distract you with pictures and tales of my family.
Firstly, a rare spotting of the husband. John’s plumage is not usually so vivid, but he entered right into the spirit of Wear It Pink on Friday:
(and he delighted Ruth and Adam by bringing home little pink cakes from work – except that now Ruth seems to think that she should have them for pudding every day… )
Then Ruth, or “Baby Mummy” as she prefers to be known:
(Please ignore the black eye – she fell off a trampoline at a party on Thursday 
– she spent a good while afterwards sitting on my knee sobbing “It will get better. It will get better…” )
Part of our bed-time routine with the children involves me going in at the very last to give Ruth (sorry, Baby Mummy – getting that wrong at bedtime constitutes a major faux pas) a final kiss and cuddle before she settles down. She has now decided that she doesn’t want me to leave, and I should get into her cot bed with her. I explained that I’m too big, and I have other things I need to do, so I can’t. “You will do,” she said sagely. “When you smaller, you can sleep with me.”
And finally Adam:
This is him with the bridge he constructed this morning. Isn’t he a gorgeous, happy-looking little boy? He has seriously tested my parenting skills today (which have, on the whole been found lacking – it’s odd – I keep finding myself wanting to overemphasise just how badly I think I’ve done today, but then I think about children who really do experience bad parenting skills, and although I’m not proud of some of my reactions today, I have children who are well-cared for, physically and emotionally, and who know that they are loved.) The main problem is that he simply will NOT SHUT UP!!!!! His interior monologue is continually being vocalised – this, combined with my pre-menstrual hormones is not a recipe for a calm and well-ordered household. He also needs to be told what to do a minimum of 5 times, and whines instantly whenever naysaid.
And breathe.
And yet I know that there is no little boy anywhere that I could love more. That I am so proud of him – both in his enthusiasm for learning to read and count, and his sociability – for his concern for others, etc, etc.
But anyway – John was around, I had the chance to run away, so I did – I took a little hat I’d knitted round to give to the week-old baby of a friend. And I was able to cuddle the baby, who is tiny and perfect and snuggled into my shoulder as though she belonged there…
Oh, and I broke one of my very firm knitting vows – never ever to buy a knitting pattern, as there are so many available free online… I’ve subscribed to Yarn Forward – I subscribed on Wednesday, and my first issue arrived today. And it’s good. John (with his editor’s hat on) was impressed by the design. I (with my knitter’s hat on) was impressed by the content. I particularly liked that the patterns didn’t have the disapproving “If you don’t knit it with the yarn we say, we can’t be held responsible for the consequences”, but instead gave a range of different suggestions, depending on budget. The only problem is that I already have too many projects lining up… But it’s something I’ll be glad to re-read.
Oh, and Mary has taken us out for groceries in Toronto.
nine comments:
John looks dashing… Now that shirt wouldn’t fit you, so it must be from his own wardrobe??I have time to get a sky picture, but it’s grey and mucky out, so I’ll wait till next week. Your early morning shot is great!
Mary de B () (link) - 28 October '06 - 23:09
So – worth the subscription?Donni () (link) - 29 October '06 - 04:55
Suits you, sir!The children are soooo cute! I’ve found that nothing quite beats cuddling somebody elses baby. After enjoying that lovely, cosy, cuddlyness, you can hand it right back when it does something disgusting at the other end, or reaches high volumes in the ears. I’m not even a grandparent yet, but I can see the advantages already!
Louise - 29 October '06 - 09:33
Your kids are adorable. Just remember: you don’t want boring children, so you have to be grateful when they drive you up a wall.
jessie () (link) - 29 October '06 - 12:49
You mean you’re not meant to eat little pink cakes for pudding every day? Oh bum. How am I going to explain that to Monkey?Oh, and parenting skills… my next door neighbour has three kids – two late teenage boys and a 3 year old girl. She is constantly apologising for the noise the kids make. The kids aren’t a problem, it’s the noise she makes yelling at them all the time!!
Daisy () (link) - 29 October '06 - 13:57
Great photos! (Isn’t Ruth’s hair lovely and long).I like your Sat sky!!
Big Ruth () (link) - 29 October '06 - 14:03
I love this pictures and insight into your family. Parenting is such a difficult thing I find. I sometimes have days where I think I have just plain been a bad parent and it is usually because Jacob has just not been quiet all day long and it drives me potty – all the questions and disagreements etc – still it shows he’s interested in the world and I can do better the next day !Becky () (link) - 30 October '06 - 10:53
Hello Anne. Have just happened upon your blog cos I googled ‘Pettigrew’ – I am researching my family tree and wondered if you knew the origin of the Pettigrew name? Many thanks if you can help in any way at all. BeverleyBeverley () - 31 October '06 - 19:19
Doesn’t Dr Adam look like his daddy Anne?!! I also can’t believe how grown up RR looks!! C is still ‘baby’ looking! xxxxDenise () - 01 November '06 - 11:19
