Once upon a time...

... there was a little house in the village of G. There lived 3 gentle folk and a HAG. One day this HAG grew ill but still plodded off to work because even tho she was ill, she KNEW that there were THINGS TO BE DONE. The gentle folk went on with their school and work while the HAG alternated between cleaning up after them while grumbling that she was "ill for crying out loud and couldn't they have a care?" and being in a generally bad mood. The gentle folk finally got fed up with the grumbling and mumbling HAG, and ate her for supper.

Of course their house went to ruin as the clothes didn't magically get washed, folded and replaced in their cupboards. They ran out of toiletpaper. Dishes stacked themselves into high mounds in the sink and on the counters. No one threw away the empty milk cartons that were placed on the kitchen counter, so that the stench grew unbearable. No one insisted the lawn be mowed. Old paper grew in heaps on the floor along the walls, on the tables and in corners. All of these things and more. But the gentle folk who in reality were very VERY VERY MESSY PEOPLE, did not REALLY see it all. And so they lived happily ever after. The end.

This of course is a rubbish story. And impossible. No one can kill a HAG you know.

As you may or may not have guessed, I am a tad disgruntled. Being sick does NOT give me permission to be miserable and grumpy. Not even when due to my aching bones, on getting up from a few hours' doze (due to said aching bones, stuffed sinuses and inflamed throat AND a little ibuprofen), I semi-explode because of the mess incurred (due to said doze). Why? Well, I suppose because I'm a mum and therefore classed under 'super-hero' and not really given the privilege to be ill.. Had I been the dad now.... ;-)

But yaaaay! I have a daughter!! She thoroughly spoiled me with a cup of tea with HONEY because as we womenfolk know (and pass on such things from generation to generation) HONEY is great for sick people.

So now after some doses of honey and ground cinnamon, I am on the mend.. And surely a bit more positive than yesterday ;-)

Let them eat cake!

I offered to take a cake with me to a choir meeting prior to practice.

Having just acquired silicone forms (thank you eBay!) and 7 kgs of fondant of many colours (thank you Lakeland!) throughout the course of the summer, I decided to try my hand. Lil C was my willing assistant :-)



7 kgs of Lakeland's finest :-)

Making the cake (l-r)

One of my favorite hobbies!

Last picture taken, unfortunately the cake was not 100% ready.. Typical!

For the love of.. music!

The munchkins started their music lessons yesterday!

They both attend the popular Kulturskole in Sarpsborg: School of Culture: Music/Dance/Arts in our hometown. Lil J takes guitar lessons, while lil C takes piano lessons and has started singing lessons this year.

Popular you ask? Yes, you see there is a Waiting List. If you're lucky, you can get in after just a year's wait, if not then you have to wait for about 3 years.. Anyway, lil J got his first page of homework: a text-less song (his own words) and he was duly strumming when we got back home. Lil C's teacher gave C her first song to practice: A dream is a wish your heart makes.

Repeat after me *awwww*.. Coz come ON! Whoever has not heard that song at least once in their childhood (or adulthood for that matter) has really Missed Out. Period. Disney's Cinderella was my favorite until The Lil Mermaid came along. Then Cinderelly had to share the throne with Ariel.

It was surely no coincidence that the lil beans and I were trying hard to remember the Cinderella theme song just the other day (why we just didn't google it is beyond me!). Now if only we can get big J to sing this along with us (yup lil C and I are lucky to have lil J on our side when it comes to princess films.. Kind of.. Ok, ok, being the lil bro he wasn't really given too much choice BUT we compensate with the car films AND stuff like Forza 4) (in truth it is I who does all of the compensating as the other three in the house are crazier about cars than the whole of NASCAR-fans put together)..

Enjoy Cinderella!! For more songs, click here.

Cinderella, you're as lovely as your name

Cinderella, you're a sunset in a frame

Though you're dressed in rags, you wear a queenly grace

Anyone can see a throne would be your proper place

Cinderella, if you give your heart a chance

It will lead you to the kingdom of romance

There you'll see your dreams unfold

Cinderella, Cinderella, in the sweetest story ever told



Holidays over, back to the grindstone!

Well, Big J and I've already been back at work for the past 2.5 weeks. The lil beans started school again on Monday. Lil C started her very last year at primary school, while lil J is on his second-to-last.

It has not all been bad even thought we are really busy bees at the office :-) We sometimes get treated to great lunches!!


~ Lovely lunch ~


And in the past 2.5 weeks, so much has happened.. I'm almost embarrassed to admit that we've been to the amusement park Tusenfryd again (only almost, since I just uploaded pictures from June, and that's the ONLY reason I am ALMOST embarrassed!). This time a bunch of us from church made a trip. Of the ages present: 3 months to 69 years, surely the 69-year old took the cake!! She who from this day on will be forever named 'the COOL grandma' took both the Speed Monster and Spin Spider , and all the other 'fast and crazy' rides and who (in the words of her daughter-in-law) did not scream in fear but in utter joy (sure hope I grow up to be a cool grandma!)




Before take-off



Grandma T is the one on the left in green :-)

Well, things just kept rolling after that! There were two weddings on the. same. day. Yup. What to do, where to go! Well, big J managed to go to both the church ceremonies. I unfortunately only could make it to the second, but hey, I made it to the cake and coffee that evening for the wedding ceremony that I missed :-) Both brides were beeyouteeeeeful!!



JC and C with one of their cuteypie lil bridesmaids

No time to relax, as that Monday was the great BOOK PAPERING DAY. Yes, the munchkins started school and brought home about 100 kilos of books. Hooray!! No I mean really HOORAAAY!! Did I tell you I have a kind of a book papering addiction? I love cutting the paper, folding the corners, taping them, piling the books up with all their straight corners brilliantly aligned in their perfection. Uh-oh.. Hi! My name is Claudia (hi Claudia) and I am addicted to book papering :-D Well, anyway, I think I could have won a gold medal in book papering. Yup me an me fren Keshorn Walcott :-) (I see your blank faces and realize I didn't mention my Trinidadian-ness till now, did I? I's a Trinbagonian!)

It starts!!



The books slowly pile up..



FINISHED!


Now even tho I love book papering, I am kind of glad I don't have to paper books for 10 kids.. My shoulders and back do tend to ache after an olympian achievement :-D

No worries tho.. I'll be back!!

Yet another birthday party and Tusenfryd photos

Lil C celebrated her birthday with her cousin A and the rest of the Schille family (it was 'long' ago' at the end of June but hey.. time flies when you're having fun!!! :-P hence the lateness in posting).

Blowing out the candles: 12 and 9





Birthday cakes

 



Lil T, the newest Schille bean with my sis-in-law M

 




Aunty H (yet another sis-in-law!) and two of the cutey-pie nieces

 
And FINALLY..
Some photos from the trip to Tusenfryd in the beginning of June (see previous post)... yes yes better late than never right?! And no complaining that there're just 3 photos OK! I had way too much fun and therefore no time to waste on clicking away just for this blog!!!





Big J, lil J and lil C (and friends: A-J with kids) going up the elevator towards the RIDES!
I see we had beautiful weather that day..

 



The SPIN SPIDER... rawr..
Lil C tried it
(first time as she has finally passed the 140cm needed to be able to take this ride)
and loved it (her mommas girl.. heeeeeheeee)





This ride goes way way waaaaaaaaaaaay up.. Not for the faint-hearted ;-)