Bad Parenting

I'm a little concerned about Avery's maternal instincts, or maybe it's my own parenting skills I should be worrying about. This morning I was folding laundry when she came in with a couple of dolls and tossed them into the washing machine.

She had trouble getting the door to close, because the baby's toes were in the seal. After a few tries, she gave a disgusted sort of sigh and took off, pausing at the door to reassure them with "Bye! Yuv yu!"

"Whatevs. I'll be back later. You'll be fine."

"No need to call CPS, they like it in there."

Eventually she retrieved them, and shoved a sippy cup in each of their faces in turn, so she wasn't completely negligent.

Caught by the paparazzi. Makes Britney look like Mother of the Year!

In all fairness, she likes to climb in there herself, so she probably thought they'd enjoy it too. She's forever putting things into the washer or dryer-- food, coins, PlayMobils. Very important to do a quick sweep before you turn on any appliances in this house.

Day Trip

We finally got lucky and had a rain-free Saturday, so we headed down to Brighton for the day. It was perfect- 70's and sunny. Ethan & Avery collected shells and threw rocks into the ocean, only occasionally dropping them on one another's toes.


We found a playground by the water and let them do their thing for a while. Ethan immediately recruited every child of his approximate height for a soccer match, and Avery kept busy climbing and then falling off of various structures.

I don't know who she's waving at here, possibly the gulls. The tide was coming in and she was curious about the water, so I eventually took off her shoes and socks; she headed straight into the waves but immediately became alarmed, lost her head, sat down in the surf, and needed a full change of clothes.

Actual fish and chips! Try not to get your monitor greasy....


There was a little train that ran along the shoreline. Ethan was offended that his offer to drive was not accepted.

We left mid-afternoon to get Ethan home in time for a birthday party for one of his school friends. After we dropped him off we lounged around at home for a few more hours, reading and ignoring the lawn, which desperately needed mowing. Below you can see Avery, riveted by the classics.

Perfect weekend! There's a bank holiday next Monday, so I think we're going to try to fit in some more road trips.