Apparently raising three tweeners isn't challenging enough for the
Finnanes, so they invited us for a week-long infusion of Nelsongang
excitement. Their home may never be the same and I'm sure the
aftermath will be settled litigiously. Happy Thanksgiving!
In addition to the holiday-related photos
(including a version that will put your printer in a festive spirit),
there's the usual dregs of our bullet-pointed lives:
- During a bath-time stand-off between Cate and Lisa,
they both became so frustrated with the other that they were at a loss
for words. After exchanging intense glares, they both broke out
laughing, and all was well again
- At the end of a minor meltdown over nothing in
particular, Jack expressed yet more dissatisfaction with life:
"...and I can't do 'plus' [addition]!"
- Jack and I were reviewing each level of his Lego Star Wars
videogame, and I explained that we needed to find two more minikits on one level and five more
on another. After a moment, Jack exclaimed: "That's seven
more for all of this episode!" I guess he can do 'plus' after all
- On the 6th, I exchanged the £30 I'd carried in
my
wallet for almost exactly a year. I was sure I was heading back
to London "any day now" for the last twelve months, but I've finally
admitted to myself that it won't be happening any time soon
- On a foggy drive to school, Jack said he wanted to
feel the fog. When I said that wasn't really possible, he
explained to me that some people say you can cut it with a knife.
I asked him who had taught him that, and he replied (perhaps
unsurprisingly): "Scooby Doo."
- From the end of the hall, I tersely told Cate to get
back into bed. As I rounded the corner, she called back to
me: "I'm just asking a question, there is no reason to yell at
me."
- As Jack described his day at school to me,
he managed to drool on my laptop's screen. Lisa found this
absolutely hysterical. I found it less so.
- As we watched television after soccer
practice, Jack announced he had to go pottie. Then he asked Cate
to come with him to the bathroom to keep him company while he did his
business. Cate happily accepted. I find this both
heartwarming and creepy
- Since all-day kindergarten is fully taxing her, Cate
is mercifully staying in bed and going
right to sleep
- I was practicing addition with Jack when
Cate announced that Jack was wrong -- five plus five is not ten but is
in fact eleven. After the discussion quickly escalated to a
borderline argument, I helped her get the correct result by counting
her fingers. "NO," she continued to insist, "it makes
eleven! You're counting wrong. See? My fingers are spread!"
- We've noticed that Cate's teeth are really
changing. Not only is her under-bite gone, here teeth are
starting to spread out, making room for her adult teeth
- When we got conflicting readings from the
high-tech thermometer one morning, we had to go old-school on
Cate. I called
her to the bedroom and was starting to break the news when she spotted
the thermometer and told me: "Oh, I like that one." Oooookay...
- The only way we could use a free airline ticket to
visit the Finnane's was to fly everyone first class. While I'm
fundamentally opposed to kids flying first class (after all, they may
actually begin to expect it),
it was nice to have the extra room and the distraction of a meal.
Jack drew the line, however, when I buttoned his napkin to his shirt
- I helped dress Jack our first morning
with the Finnane's. He took off his underwear to reveal...
another
pair of underwear! Jack (and everyone else) thought it was
hilarious that he'd been wearing an extra pair. With this level
of preparedness, he's obviously going to be a boy scout
- Jack and Cate were jumping
on the trampoline with Hailey, Toni, and Quinn when I heard Cate crying
loudly. Despite Hailey and Toni's efforts, she was
inconsolable. Slowly, the story emerged that something had
happened on the trampoline and Cate had blurted out "a bad word."
While initially reluctant to tell me the word that so embarrassed and
upset her, she finally admitted to the awful truth: "crud"
- Quinn was great with Jack
throughout our stay, and he even included Jack when he went to a
friend's house. As the boys piled into the car, Jack suddenly
feared he was being left behind by the big-boys -- he called out:
"Hey
guys! Wait up!"
- Maybe it's three months of kindergarten or a week
with the Finnane kids, but both Lisa and I have both
noticed a not-so-subtle change in the kids. They definitely seem
less like toddlers and more like little people -- they're both
noticeably more mature
That's
it for now!
Lisa and
Greg
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