overheard

Ollie:  I'm lovely, mum, because I keep making you things

Ollie: I'm giving myself a headache, everything in my brain is all jumbled up, my thinking wires have snapped!

Ollie:  Mum, in my head there are LOTS of BIG love hearts, all for you.

Ollie: (after I'd been cross with him) Dad, I'm so sad, all the love hearts in my head for mum are disappearing.

Me:  How many do you need?
Ollie:  Four
Me:  How many do you have?
Ollie: Three
Me:  So, how many more do you need?
Ollie: One... I'm like a calculator!

Max:  Ollie's going to consplode our house! (he meant 'explode')

Max: (finishing off his first ever packet of Pez candies) I've eaten all my pheasants!

Max:  I'm Buzz Limeyear!

Max:  I actually like bumatoes now! (he means tomatoes) (I hope)

overheard

Ollie: (to Max) Now Max.  You get what you get and you don't get upset about it.

Me:  Ollie, don't be so rude!
Ollie:  But mum, you're rude sometimes too.
(it's true)

Me: (very frustrated) Oh Max, good LORD!
Max:  Mummy, no don't say good lord... say BAD lord!

Ollie:  (after he was back from looking at the neighbourhood Christmas lights with his dad) Mum, I had a lovely time light spotting around the neighbourhood
Me:  That's great, I wish I could have gone with you.
Ollie:  When we were walking around, quite a strange feeling came over me.
Me:  Really?  What sort of feeling?
Ollie:  (speaking very slowly and quietly) It happened when I saw a teeny tiny creature crawl out of a hole and land in the middle of the pavement!

Ollie: (after we gave him a peanut m&m) Can I have one of those little round things?  A P&M?

Ollie:  (as I was bringing Hugo out of his room after nap time) Mum!  Look who it is!
Me: It's Hugo!  Isn't he lovely?
Ollie: Yes
Me:  Do you love him more than anything in the world?
Ollie: er.... Yes
Me:  Really?  More than garbage trucks?
Ollie:  (thinking for a moment) I love them both.  I love garbage trucks AND babies.

Ollie:  It's the day before Christmas Day
Me: Yes, what does that mean?
Ollie:  We have to get a lot of things ready, like drinks and milk and carrots for Santa
Me:  What do you think Santa would like to drink?
Ollie:  Something like.... maybe something that only adults drink.

Ollie: (unwrapping his Christmas present and hopping from foot to foot) It's a side loading garbage truck! It's a side loading garbage truck! It's a side loading garbage truck! It's a side loading garbage truck! It's a side loading garbage truck! It's a side loading garbage truck!

poo poo

Poo poo, poo poo head, mr poo poos, poo poo bum bum, poo bums, bumpoos, thank you poo poo, mummy poo poo.
And so on.

overheard

Me: His eyes are?
Max: Orange!
Me: His tongue is?
Max: Black!
Me: He has purple prickles all over his?
Max: Back!
Me: Where are you meeting him?  Here by this lake, and his favourite food is?
Max: ... Ice cream!

Ollie: There's a spider outside and he's trying to get into our house!  Let's kill it!
Me:  No!  Why would we do that?  He's just minding his own business, building his web.
Ollie:  Actually mum, we call it a webSITE.

Me: Ollie, it looks as though you need to do a wee.  Do you?
Ollie: No
Me: You are squirming a lot. Are you sure you don't need to go?
Ollie:  I don't need to go to the toilet
Me:  Ollie, are your underpants wet or dry?
Ollie: (pauses...) Mum.  I am going to the toilet and I am NOT going to answer that question.

Ollie:  I don't know where I've put it, mum.

Me:  Me neither.

Ollie:  It must be with all my other curiosities.

Ollie: (to Max, who was this close to being put in the naughty corner) Max, do you want to go to jail?  Or something similar?

Me:  Do you know Ollie's full name is Oliver James?

Max: (who's favourite engine is James) No

Me:  And your full name is Max Henry

Max: NO!

Me:  Well, what's your name?

Max: James

Me:  It's Max Henry

Max: No! James!

(a small tantrum ensued)

Ollie:  You know mum, your mouth is going to have to get REALLY BIG for the baby to come out of it.

(Isn't it just.)

sad and complicated

This evening, when I was reading to the boys before bed time, Ollie said to me, 'Mum, I feel sad.  And complicated.'  It was easy to see how this was a funny thing for a three year old to say, but we talked about it for a bit.  He was feeling sad, because I had forbidden any tv this evening, and though he couldn't quite tell me why he was feeling complicated, I'm guessing it was because he was so exhausted this evening, he couldn't possibly have been thinking straight.

What struck me though, was that lately, I've been feeling a bit sad and complicated.  I think it's probably post birthday blues, or the pressure of my work life, or feeling tired and achey regardless of how much sleep I get.  I mean, I'm also quite happy and generally as content as I've ever been but I'm a bit sad too.  See?  It's quite complicated.  I don't have much to be sad about, life is ticking along nicely, we have plenty to anticipate and the kids seem... manageable.  Enjoyable, even.  But there's something and I think it's that feeling of belonging (or lack thereof) that's creeping back into my life, making me question where we want to be as a family.

So anyway, I have made this post all about me, but really, it's all about my children.  They are far better at articulating themselves than I often give them credit for.  It's easy to brush off some of the things that kid says, but much as he couldn't quite tell me what he meant, I'm pretty sure that sad and complicated is just how he was feeling at that moment in time and credit to him for knowing just how to tell me about it.  I hope he realises that happy or sad, I will always want to know how he's feeling.  Even when he's all grown up and life really is complicated.

overheard

O: (blinking really fast) Mum, would you look at my eyes!  They're going mental with all the opening and closing!  Mum, did you hear me, I said, they're going MENTAL!

O: (playing with his Lego figures) You! You're a bad criminal.  You did a poo in your pants!  I'm going to drag you to jail.  Oh, you really impressed me, you did a poo on the toilet.  WELL DONE!

Me:  Ollie, it's almost time for a sleep

O:  But I don't want to go to sleep, I want to keep playing

Me:  Well alright, you can play for another couple of minutes, but then we'll read a story and go to bed

O:  But I want to play for THIS MANY minutes, for LOTS of minutes

Me: OK.  How many minutes do you want to play for?

O: (pauses...) Four

O:  I want to hug the baby
Me:  OK
O:  (hugging my growing belly and patting it gently)  The baby has to grow a lot before we can meet him.  (...pause...) Hello baby, what are you doing? and then the baby says "I'm moving around... I'm moving towards mama's mouth because I have to pop out one day" (!!)

O: (to Max, as they were playing rather nicely together and with their big garbage truck) Excuse me... excuse me, MY DEAR!

Me: (after watching Ollie finish every bit of his mustard and tarragon chicken dinner) Well done, Ollie, you ate a good meal there.
O:  (somewhat confused by the mustard in his dinner)  Now I can have my crumble and mustard (he meant crumble and custard)

Will: (reading to the boys) "And then he climbed all the way to the top of the tallest of trees!"
O:  I'd like to do that
Will:  Really?  You'd climb to the top of the tallest of trees?
O:  (pause) I'd climb to a smaller one.

Me:  OK Ollie, it's time to go inside soon, just another 10 minutes of playing in the garden and we'll go inside for a nap
O:  I want to play for FIVE minutes!

Me:  Ollie, do you need to use the toilet?
O:  No
Me:  Then please stop fiddling with your underpants
O:  But I'm just trying to sort out my wing-wang, it's going mental!

Me:  (while Ollie was playing with his Lego at the dinner table rather than eating his dinner) Some of us at the table are eating our dinner, Ollie.
O:  Not me!

Me:  Night night Max.  Can you say 'night night'?
M: Na na
Me:  I love you, buddy.  Can you say 'I love you'?
M:  Na na
Me:  But can you say 'I love you'?
M: COOKIE!

the year in review

I went back to work after giving birth to my littlest boy and to my surprise, loved it, I joined a gym and kept it up, we had visitors from England, we broke a fridge, we bought a new camera and took a million photographs, we edited our photos and backed them up responsibly, we realised we need a holiday but didn't have the time to take one, we escaped the floods but friends weren't so lucky, I baked a cheesecake and made a pavlova, both for the first time, we lost a baby and cried and cried, we learned our son is crazy for puzzles and our other son is a cheeky little devil with a naughty streak that is adorable, we watched movies, so many movies, I watched my husband become an actual architect, I used my KitchenAid way more than I thought I would, I Skyped my parents every week, sometimes twice, I missed them terribly, we didn't always try a new recipe every week but we always ate good food, I loved watching the royal wedding, missed England and her countryside, visited the GoMA at least twice, we still haven't managed to get out to dinner but we had an awesome party for Will's birthday, we decorated our garden with 800 fairy lights, we said goodbye to Sue, but hello to Emma and Clasein, I had the most awesome birthday week EVER and ate at my favourite restaurant with my favourite person, we visited a zoo, our house was a zoo, I discovered patience, then lost it again, I became a little more like my mum, we ate McDonalds for the first time in years and regretted it, I got to know my sister as my friend and lamented the years we spent apart but realised it's better late than never, our boys' birthday parties were awesome and it didn't rain, we didn't send Christmas cards this year, but I've been good at keeping in touch with those I love, we became really good at doing the kids' packed lunches in about 10 minutes, and kept on top of keeping house, I worried about how I'm doing at work but found out they think I'm ok, I playdoughed, painted, tidied, read to my sons, our boys started sharing a room together, we only broke a few baubles this year, I wished I had read more books and had more haircuts, we had Christmas at our house with my friend Kate, I learned the names of lots of vehicles, we repaired our lawn and now our garden looks fabulous, I got cross with my boys more often than I would have liked but always ended the day with kiss and a cuddle, I started and ended the year very tired.  But so happy.

Come on 2012.   I know you are going to be great.

three

Ollie.  Three years old, today.

"It kills you to see them grow up. But I guess it would kill you quicker if they didn't."
(Barbara Kingsolver, my hero) 

caterpillars

Ollie:  What are they?

Me:  What do you think they are?

Ollie:  They're worms.

Me:  Almost... they're caterpillars.  When butterflies have babies, they start out as little caterpillars and then they grow into butterflies... they're baby butterflies.
(Ollie contemplates this for a moment)
Me:  Ollie, are you a baby?

Ollie:  Yes

Me:  Are you mama's baby?

Ollie:  Yes

Me:  What about Max?

Ollie: (pauses)... He's a caterpillar.

leeks and ham jam

Me:  Ollie, what would you like on your toast?

Ollie:  Ham

Me:  How about jam?

Ollie:  I'd like ham

Me:  We don't have ham

Ollie:  How about ham jam?

It's been a while since we cooked anything new, despite this being a resolution way back when.  Yet again, we've fallen into the trap of roast chicken on a Sunday night, pizzas on a Friday and the usual bore in between, although last Sunday we did enjoy a slow lamb roast.  And although it's not technically a dinner, Will and I did jazz up the week with a dinner of gin and tonics, roquefort and baguette and a rather nice bottle of red wine.

But this week, we managed to make this beautiful, sumptuous recipe of slow braised leeks (using home made chicken stock) and pasta, courtesy of that guy Jamie Oliver.  It took a bit longer than I would normally have the patience for after a day at work but it was easy and actually now that I think about it, not really that time consuming (while the leeks are braising you can put the washing out, clean up kids' lunch bags and load the dishwasher).  Pasta isn't usually that great leftover, but this dish was a deluxe treat for lunch the next day.  So go on, try it, and see how easy it is to knock back a bowl or two after a long day doubting yourself and your abilities.

secret plans and clever tricks

Thanks to his current obsession with The Enormous Crocodile, Ollie keeps telling me, he has 'secret plans and clever tricks'.  I'm sure he does.  In the mean time, Max's quilt is coming together, slowly.  After such a long time deliberating over colours, I rather like how it's looking.  Will particularly likes the colours, and if you knew him, you would know that that is high praise indeed.

a what in the where?

Ollie: I'd like a rumble in the jungle 
Me: I don't know what that means
Ollie: I'd like a rumble in the jungle PLEASE
Me: Yes, but I don't know what that is 
Ollie: How about a jungle in the rumble?

it's nice!

We have been tracking the progress of our strawberry plant with Ollie for the last few weeks.  The little white blossoms, which turned into little green berries, then white have slowly been turning pink and then red and then finally, a couple of days ago, it was time to eat our first strawberry.

Ollie took a tiny nibble, thought about it for a moment, then looked up and proclaimed 'it's nice!' and then gave his mama, his papa and his little brother a teensy bite too.  And it was nice.

I love to see things grow with Ollie, he really gets into the process and although it doesn't always feel that way, he does seem to listen to what we are saying and teaching him.  The difference is amazing when it's something he's interested in.  I will write again about all things Ollie related, especially after my last post, but at the moment, we are feeling positive, and I think he's responding to that positivity in a very good way.

oh no!

Ollie is now putting two word sentences together.  It's only basic stuff, like 'bye bye mama' or 'no ta' but he's learning context and is now now saying 'oh no!' when he drops a toy, spills a drink, or when he sees a mess!  I think we may have heard him say it at least a hundred times - this weekend alone.

I am finding that now he's talking, we are laughing more and the happy days are that much happier.  He's learned 'parp' and is really trying to use his words and actions when he wants something, 'mama up! down, open, ni-nike (night night)' and his willingness to use his words is making every day that much easier.  But we still have trying moments.  He's going through a phase of wanting his mama to get him out of bed in the morning (otherwise the day starts very badly - for everyone) and more often than not, he wants mama to do everything, whether it's reading a story or doing bed time.  Speaking of which, bed time is not a smooth process at the moment (why not?!) and Ollie's day time sleep is becoming less of a certainty as he is growing into the headstrong little boy he's always been.  Some days we can do nothing right.

His toys of the moment are cars, screwdrivers, torches, puzzles, the driving seat of any real car and his Thomas books.  I don't much like the Thomas books but he loves them and it's worth sitting through the inane stories to see him so happy.  His fascination with books and cars and books about cars is unparalleled and he can't resist walking past a book or his papa's newspaper without opening it and having a flick through the pages (to look for a car no doubt).

The little man will be two years old in a couple of weeks.  Two!

encore!

This week, Ollie's aunty and cousin came to visit.  We don't have much space in our house and I always wonder how we are going to squeeze everyone in but it always ends up being alright and it's a bit of a novelty getting the inflatable mattress out.   Ollie's cousin Emmanuelle (the girl of many nicknames, of which Emma seems to be the most popular) is six weeks younger than Ollie and was born in Paris.  She is kind hearted, sweet natured, she has a penchant for snacking and a very cute little vocabulary of French and English words.  Ollie, who is still of few words but really developing his language quickly, really enjoyed having her around and this morning seems to be a bit bored, plodding about the house wondering where all the fun has disappeared to.  He's not much of a mimicker but at lunch yesterday, Ollie listened as Manu reached for more bread and said 'encore!', thought for a minute, then looked at me and said 'a-core!'.  His first French word!  Hard to resist.

And in other, unrelated but still relevant news, Will and I start our tenth year together today.  Nine years ago, on 22 September 2001, and after more than a sensible amount of dithering, we managed to spend an evening together doing what we did best back then - hanging out in a London bar.  I am pretty sure that was the night I fell in love and nine years later we are married with two beautiful boys.  I never thought I could be so lucky.  Each year brings with it new challenges but each year seems to better the last. I have a feeling that this next one is going to be something special.

overheard

Me:  Ollie, would you like to listen to some music?
Ollie:  (nods)
Me:  Giro Giro Tondo?
Ollie:  No
Me:  OK.  What would you like to listen to?
Ollie:  Pooh
Me:  Winnie the Pooh?
Ollie:  (nods)

(We appear to have entered the realm of the conversation.)