August 17th, 2008
The four oldest kids have all done their best to earn some pocket money this summer - with various job descriptions.
#1 Brat has worked at a shop near a local beach - very stressful at times, and extremely boring in bad weather. #2 Brat has had a job at a fruit/veg/flower outlet near a busy road - quite stressful too, at times. #3 Brat has mowed his grandparents lawn, helped them around the garden and got the winter firewood in for them. #4 Brat har been entrepreneurial - she’s picked and sold berries and wild mushrooms, and collected some cash that way.
Good on all of them - at their ages, they all have needs that we don’t necessarily agree with, and so won’t pay for…
School starts tomorrow for three of them - another summer bites the dust!
August 6th, 2008
- I was called to name something I consider myself an expert in. That’s not easy! (Unless, of course, you ARE an expert in something. Which I truly am not).
I thought about parenting, but it was taken, and I’m not an expert in parenting either. I sometimes consider myself an expert in parenting my own kids (which is a terrible misunderstanding - they surprise me every day!). So - I came up with Brats. Meaning my Brats, all 6 of them.
We all make mistakes, we forgive each other, we laugh, we cry, we’re bored (they’re bored. I blog) - and we’re a FAMILY.
I don’t believe for a minute that they’ll look back and think they’ve had a great childhood (who does???), but I hope they’ll remember parts of it fondly… And that they’ll make time to come and see us when we’re old(er) and (even more) weird - because they want to, and not out of duty.
July 27th, 2008
# 3 Brat is so much better from his acne. That sounds like a trivial thing, but he really was in a bad way. His back is still red and sore, but there aren’t so many new ones, and they’re drying up. He started out with a heavy duty acne cream, and UV light treatments, but has been on a homeopathic regime for a while now.
He’s had a few recommendations for his diet - no dairy products or caffeine, and no “light” or “diet” drinks. He also takes vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as a homeopathic remedy for acne - and it works! Slowly, but it does work. His face is much, much better too, and I guess for a guy of 16, that’s quite important…
I hope the good trend continues with the winter and heavy clothing - in the meantime, he’s taking advantage of the sun as well!
July 12th, 2008
Big sis - #5 Brat, holding Miracle Boy for the first time - trying to support his head…
More on the PhotoHunt!
July 4th, 2008
See the little wading brat in my heading? She’ll be starting school in August. They start when they’re 6 in this country, and she’s started her countdown. 45 days now…
Mum’s started thinking about kitting her out. They all get their first special backpack for free - courtesy of the “Safe Traffic” organization, orange with reflecting trimmings (It’s dark here in the winter - this is to make the little kites more visible), so that’s taken care of. I’ve got her a brand new pink pencil case, with everything in it, and also some cheap pens I found, with pink tassels on them. They produced one happy little girl… Now, we’ll go after some nice outfits. I’ll try to ease her out of her pink stage, but I have a feeling my little princess’ll be all in pink for some time yet.
The teachers all recognized me on the getting-to-know-each-other-day, of course - I’ve had two birth kids in that school, and two step-kids as well. I told them there was one more where this one came from. At least the teachers will know I’m not the grandmother…
July 3rd, 2008
It was the experience of a lifetime. This 74 year-old artist made us laugh, he made us cry - and what a charming, dignified man…
He did all his great hits from the 80es, opening the show with “Dance me to the end of Love”. He did quite a few older ones too - catering to elderly fans (of whom there were many!) and also some newer songs. When the intro to “I’m your man” sounded over the arena, I cried… I’ve loved that song from when I first heard it - wishing someone had written those lyrics for me…
I don’t know what a Cohen concert is like anywhere else, but he has such a large and diverse audience in this country, and his appreciation shows. His friendship with the late Norwegian writer Axel Jensen and his wife Marianne (to whom the song “So long, Marianne” is written) has also brought him to Norway on several occasions, and taught him to love this country.
Some 12000 spectators gave that love right back to him, and the concert was… riveting.
I thought the show would have been over in just under 2 hours - no way. He went on stage at 8pm, and was still doing encores when we had to leave at 11.10 to catch the last train home.
So - Thank you, Mr. Cohen - your “golden voice” made our anniversary a truly memorable one, and made cousin Lindas send-off back to the States a night to remember for her too. As for #4 Brat (14) who came along - you’ve got yourself a brand new fan!
June 28th, 2008
My 6 bright little kidlets - one of whom is getting ready to leave the nest. This was taken 18 months ago - not very bright of me to not organize it so that they can all be in one photo more often! Must see to that before # 1 Brat leaves, so that we have some nice pics to brighten our days…
More on the PhotoHunt!
June 26th, 2008
# 5 Brat is getting a playhouse… She doesn’t know it yet, but we’ve been given a dainty little house by some friends of ours. Well - it will be dainty when I’m finished with it. My little pink girl in her little pink house - what a treat for her! (I somehow know it’ll be pink…)
It’s all made of wood, and it’s got a little porch, a little door and two windows. (This is where I was going to slip in something about vinyl siding, but I won’t bother…) I know my little Brat will be thrilled to bits, and I’ll probably have to find some miniature furniture for her new miniature quarters! Actually - I’m about as excited as I know she will be!
June 18th, 2008
The other night, at 11pm, I sent hubby off to see if #3 Brat had come home from his trip on his motorbike. I hadn’t seen him, and he hadn’t said goodnight. The bike was there - #3 Brat was secure in bed.
It turns out he’d been here, said goodnight to me, even given me a peck on the cheek… I still don’t remember it. People call, brats tell me things - it goes straight out of my head. I know they won’t put me in a home just yet, but it probably won’t be too long - unless…
They give people hearing implants. Why can’t I have a memory stick implanted? My hard drive is so full of useless information, I could use a “delete” button to make room for new and more relevant stuff, as well as some way of retrieving whatever’s buried deep, deep down.
While we’re at it, #4 Brat would like a “good humour” implant, #1 Brat a GPS behind her ear, and would someone please throw in a “tidiness” device for all of us…
June 17th, 2008
# 3 Brat is suffering from severe acne problems. He’s had UV light treatments, that have helped a bit, but driving 15 miles for a 10 minute treatment every two days got a bit stressful for him, so he decided to quit that.
His doctor prescribed some pills that would work - only the side effects included such minor concerns as psychosis, depressions, suicidal tendencies, renal failure, liver failure… Eh… OK, so only a small percentage contract these, but who’d want to end up in those statistics… To be given these, he would have had to give the doctor a waiver in writing from his parents. Scary. Needless to say, he never had those pills!
At the moment, he’s trying natural acne treatments, as prescribed by a homeopath that he really likes. It takes time, he has to stay away from certain foods and take all sorts of vitamins, minerals as well as homeopathic medicine, but he looks much better, and feels better too. The sun and outdoor activity may have something to do with it as well, but at least she’s made him understand that getting some sun and fresh air on his skin will help, whereas hiding it under sweaters won’t…
Whether or not this treatment will remove the acne remains to be seen - he seems to be getting better, and is gaining confidence too, which is the main thing. Time is on his side regardless - adulthood will set in one day, and with it a more balanced hormone flow…
