Still autumnal

Yes I'm blogging! The reason is....Oz is at sport camp today - He loves it and it's the first day of half term and I need to keep him amused....Toby is watching Baby Da Vinci (he hasn't watched half as much Baby Einstein as Oz - it taught Oscar his colours and shapes so I'm "educating" Toby now while I blog!). I know I'm a bad mummy but hey - it's giving me a chance to catch up here and YOU'RE reading it!!

So what's happening here then...

We're making the most of the mild weather - though it's turning colder and wetter now - and hanging out at the park a lot. This is Crystal Palace park where I used to play as a child - I climbed on this stone gorilla a lot and my two little monkeys love it too.
Walking with my boy...
Oz playing peekaboo in the buggy (he was being exceptionally lazy!)
Rob and Toby enjoying the dinosaurs
Oz thinks he IS a lion....
Things are ok at home - Toby starts nursery this week - HOORAH! I know, I'm an evil mummy - but I think it will be the best thing for all of us - some time for me and Oz, some time for Toby to socialise and do loads of stuff at the same nursery Oz went to, and some time for ME to....blimey, well I don't know exactly what I'll do. The first few mornings I'll probably come home and sleep. And do laundry. And be able to hang it up without Toby scattering it all over the kitchen. And have peaceful lunches where I can focus on my big boy who eats up his lunch brilliantly instead of fighting with the littlest one who throws food and won't eat.

A cute new morning tradition is happening in the house- Oz has a clock in his room now and knows not to come into our room unless it's 7am. However if his baby bruv wakes up before then, he goes into Toby's room and plays with him and reads him Dear Zoo. Toby squeals with joy so Rob and I are obviously not asleep through this - but it's nice to lie in my warm bed for 10 minutes listening to them together.

They are really developing your classic sibling love-hate relationship. Sometimes they play and laugh and have a brilliant time together. Then one will want what the other one has. I'm trying to teach Toby that he has to share but when he does, Oz invariably torments him with whatever item Toby has reluctantly been forced to give him. Which causes massive tantrums. Toby is also hitting Oz a lot more, but then again, Oz is still hitting Toby so I keep trying to explain that Toby will copy him and if he gets bashed, it's kind of his fault....while still trying to teach Toby that it's very naughty to hit....It's much harder with 2! At this age, if Oz hit I had time to explain to him, or time him out...Toby is much harder - his speech is getting so much better but no where near as good as his brother was at this age. I'm sure he's understanding a lot and he also gets frustrated when I don't understand him....oh I don't know. I'm trying to be consistent and fair as much as I can be - not always successfully but I'm doing my best.

Kirsti has booked her flight for Christmas and I can't wait. I've booked tickets to go and see the panto - at the same theatre in Greenwich where we went last year - it's a proper traditional panto with no soap stars or tv in jokes - just great fun. We're going on boxing day.

I'm still waiting to hear when we'll get our money out of Iceland - don't know if I mentioned on here but all our Christmas money was in there. Luckily my parents will cover us if we don't get it back before Christmas but it's still a pain in the arse and a horrible feeling - not being able to get MY money out of the bank. Credit crunch is starting to seriously scare me. But I don't want to go on about it......I'm still looking forward to my favourite time of year - Christmas.

This week on Halloween I'm taking the boys trick or treating for the first time. Can't wait. I've set it up with some friends - we're going to start at my house, go to their houses with a few random stops on the way (at least with the friends' houses we're guaranteed SOME chocolate!) and then have a little party at my friend Hannah's house. Oz, Toby and I will make some Halloween biscuits and cakes later in the week and I'll try and put them on here or on my other blog - The Kitchen Mirror. Not sure if I've pointed to it before but it's a cookery blog I'm a member of with my stonecutter pals - I'm the only Brit so try and bring some UK flavours to an American kitchen! Go have a look here...I just posted my sunday dinner yesterday.

Ok - will go and lavish attention on junior now (actually change his bum for the 4th time today - what is that boy eating!). Will try and blog more now I will have a bit more time on my hands....