40 posts tagged “j”

Right now my girlies and their pals should be relaxing after (hopefully) whizzing through their first major exam, R.E. GCSE.

It was only yesterday that H breathed a sigh of relief that all her SATS were over, but they are in a group of kids that are guinea pigging taking a GCSE at 13-14 in Year 9 instead of Year 11. I helped out with their revision by making flash cards, which I dutifully wrote out in the neatest handwriting I could manage with my dodgy old wrist and it was so weird listening to them quizzing each other on euthanasia and conversion last night, knowing that they were doing it to gain a mark that may or may not mean something to their future.

My biggest hope is that they have learnt what it takes to work at their exams so when they finally get their options for the next two years that they work hard at it to get what they want.

A bargain at £299 in the sale and a 1GB CF card for a fiver, and away I go with my new Canon 400D. I've still to discover what all the dials and doodah's do and mean but I've been having fun trying it out.

 

Throughout their tender years, the twins have always had differing personalities. The eldest, H, suddenly turned into a teenager at approximately age 6 and her moods were completely unreadable. The slightest thing that could be misread would be and she'd blow her top and rant and rave and get everyone worked up trying to calm her down. J on the other hand, always seemed to be so sweet, although the fact she was such a sticky beak would get her into trouble.

H really got into the moody teen thing a year or so ago, her anger growing and then exploding and I'd have to find inventive ways to cool her down. Suddenly, although she still gets grouchy at times, those times are decreasing in length and her dippy side, the one that makes us laugh and her smile in wonderment at our laughter has become the dominant one. Not J. J, my sweet little girl, has turned into a full blown why-should-I-give-a-f'ing-sh*t kinda girl. Although there are still cute moments and times when she's playing along and being totally hilarious, I am still shocked each time a big outburst leaves her lips and looking at her eyes you can see the pure anger.

I'm hoping she grows out of it and not too far in the future either... jeepers, she can give the most withering looks.

In the past few weeks it's rained so much that I have been unable to cut the grass. As a result, it's gone pretty mental, which wouldn't be such a problem except the retired guy next door to me is out there the second it's dry enough and cutting his. When the weather is good it gets cut at least once a week. This means there is a lovely lush little patch of green outside his and an overgrown scrub outside mine. It's bad enough that I can only cut it first thing in the morning or at dusk because of the pollen, but looking out of the window it's still too damp to hack away at the jungle.

I looked out of the kitchen window at the back garden yesterday, fulling expecting to see beyond the rivulets pouring down the window, that pygmies had inhabited the back garden and were hunting sabre-toothed tigers. Instead I was puzzled to see the grass was yellow and wilted looking in weird looking patches, as though someone had jumped all over the garden and everywhere they'd touched had been superheated. I really couldn't figure out what had happened and then inspiration hit me this morning.

Me to the Number Two Daughter: Have either of you been using the weedkiller spray?
J: Blank stare
Me again: J - have either of you used the weedkiller in the back garden?
N2D with a small look of dawning horror: Erm....yes?
Me: Did you spray the weeds in the grassy bit?
J: Err...yes...
Me: Ah, that will explain the fact the lawn looks zombified then.

It turns out that when I was out helping KT rediscover his living room carpet is orange and not a weird beige colour, J had decided that as I had been bemoaning the fact that I couldn't attack the lawn in the wet, that she'd at least get the weeds for me. I can't be mad at her - in fact, I am thankful she didn't go for the dandelions on the front lawn!

On the outside:

If reading this,

I'm asleep !!   :Þ

 

On the inside:

To Mum + KT

LOVE you both. Hope
you had loads of
fun with ALAN Carr's mummy.
See you in morning.
I LOVE YOU loads (both of you)
NIGHT NIGHT. Hope bed bugs don't Bite.

Love You, J***

This post is the three portrait style photos I've chosen to enter the quest - and the others I liked from playing at the bottom of the post for reviews. All taken with a point and click camera, so no fancy close ups as it doesn't do much!

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Chosen by H - the twin on the right

Chosen by me - shows Number Two Son in a rare capture - no boss eyes, no sticky up fingers, no smear as he races to beat the camera - I caught this one just right. Also shows KT snuggled against the bracing North Sea wind and H doing homework on the bench!

 

Chosen by KT. On the same day as the above photo, J popped into the van and was doing Dracula impressions. I wanted a pic, but she made a great game out of hiding behind the blanket every time I pressed the button - the kids have learnt it's a slow old camera! This one was her cracking up because it was obviously such a great game! Behind her is the prom through the can window - less that a minute's walk to where the bomb was found yesterday.  

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Another of the shots taken in the garden - J has a thing for sticking out her tongue at the moment and H just pulls the most fantastic faces...

 

I've been trying to get the kids to do death shots for years. We play at dead at home - did you know that when you are dead your tongue always sticks out? And to revive that person, all you have to do is push their tongue back into their mouth and shake them whilst saying 'Wake up! Wake Up!' - works everytime.

 

This lady's pooch was much admored by the two gents. The one bending down got right down level with the dog to give it some good old loving but this was the only pic where you could see the lady's face.

The Sisterly Love shot - in slight sepia style for KT, original for me and black and white for H

 

KT doesn't feel that some of these count as portraits - I disagree. Any opinions?

 

The twins came home from their annual night hike exhausted. J was straight upstairs after a kiss and a hug. H on the other hand, decided she wasn't tired. I pointed out that KT mentioned she'd been bouncing her head against the window like a fly trying to escape in the world beyond a pane of glass on the journey home and she went up without any further comment.

I don't know much about the results yet, other than their team completed the course, though I am sure when the snoring is over and I get mugged that I will find out more!

I've been neglectful again, I know it. Part of it is that Number One son is here visiting and so the telly has been snaffled for PS2 gaming and the computer for soppy chats with the girlfriend. The rest is that there isn't much to report lately.

Health update:
I had some blood taken on Friday for a whole range of tests. I was surprised by just how many bottles and tubes the phlebotomist was holding when she jabbed me. I got a message on my phone from someone at the surgery about the results, but she wasn't there when I called back, so I will have to wait for those. I also had a spirometry test that day to check for COPD but that was fine. Still have to make the appointment for an x-ray though - my taxi driver hasn't been feeling well himself recently.

Kids update:
H was chosen to take part in an exercise set at a magistrate court. She was chosen to be magistrate number three, which means lots of note taking and very little talking, so she is ecstatic.

J is really enjoying football again but is insistant that she doesn't want to join the girls team at Felixstowe & Walton. H also refuses to go. This is annoying because we know how much they love playing, and how good they are as team players from the tournaments and previous matches they've played for school. Before we moved here, they trained with F&W all through the summer hols and particiapted in matches and were told that if we ever moved here permanently that they would love to have the girls on the team. However, my wusses will dribble around the butterfly bush and an obstacle course of shoes, but they are too shy to go to even one meeting at F&W, even knowing that they already have friends there. Grrr.

J got a new certificate and badge at swimming - this means she can now go up a level. Well done J! Pity we can't get H to join in with that, although at least she is going swimming after the teaching sessions now.

The girls are going on their annual night hike on Saturday... fingers crossed they don't go so far off course this year!

AJ is mostly happy. [This is good].

S is peachy. [This is great].

Things to do:
I really must get out and get some more red photos - I'm never going to finish my rainbow staring at the same things all the time.

Print out the proof that I have paid Anglian Water the £80 they say they haven't recieved (again) and then send them two copies.

Poke TV Licensing up the backside to get my license sorted.

Find just where the heck I saved my recipe for Blueberry Muffins. AJ made some earlier from a recipe we found online that had great reviews and they were a little too bready for my liking. They taste fruity and are a good texture - I just like my muffins to be a bit more cakey than bready.

That's kinda it. What a boring life I have. How come it zooms by so quickly?!

 

 

AJ called at the weekend and said he needed a break, so without telling the girls, KT and I planned to get him yesterday.

The journey there was pretty uneventful - I only panicked we were going to get wiped out by weaving lorries a few times and we made pretty good time managing the 250 mile round trip just in time to get back as school let out. 

AJ hid behind the seat as N and H came to the van and I knew N thought she'd seen something moving as she kinda looked at the back doors with that quizzical look people get when they aren't quite sure what happened.

The gals sat down and H immediately noticed the bag with the KFC wrappers. As she complained about that, AJ snuck upwards and whispered 'boo'. There was an excellent reaction as both girls burst into hysterical giggles and H gave her bro a huge hug. When J saw him it was a lot of hugging a and some tears - we didn't see him at Christmas and he was missed.

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I've just recieved this text message from H.

Can AJ come and pick up up after school please cause there is this total retard called matthew fee in my form and he crushed crirsps in my hair

I replied with

We'll see. Brothers are not for crushing total retards.

Her reply?

But they can scare him for us.

 

Inspired by Tara M's post: My Fair Lady

The girls were almost 5 when they first said they wanted their ears pierced and I refused. I wanted them to be sure. They asked every day for a year and I thought, yep, they're ready now. They fought over who would go first, and J, being the bossy one decided to be strong and go first.

She sat in the chair and giggled as they marked her ears... then bawled her eyes out when they shot the earrings into her little lobes. H looked on in horror as I gave J a big hug and I knew we were about to have problems with her.

First she refused to sit in the chair.

She ran out of the shop and into the shopping centre, and thankfully she plopped herself onto a nearby bench. I went to get her and she cried that she really wanted earrings but it hurt J so it would hurt her. At this point, I had two five year olds clinging to me crying in the middle of a busy shopping centre. J snivelled and tried to tell H that it hurt but she had to have it done because she really wanted it done.

H, really was on two minds. She kept glancing over at the shop, then putting her hands over her ears and saying no. I told her we had to go back in whatever as I had left all my shopping in there (it was a last minute thing to get their ears done) and she half-reluctantly came back with me. As I spoke to one of the girls in there to say I didn't think she wanted it done today, J got her sitting in the chair. Once she was sat in it, she again decided she wanted her ears pierced. We all went over and I asked her if she was sure. She said yes, but her little eyes were quivering with tears and I asked her again. She grabbed my hand and said yes again, but wouldn't let go off my hand. The two girls came over and put dots on her earlobes, which I thought were uneven and they looked, agreed and redid them, but I still thought they were uneven. They disagreed, and called over the manager. She agreed with them that they were even so I reluctantly said go ahead. H's grip on my hand tightened up and her knuckles went white. The guns cracked and one of the girls said all done - H didn't believe them - she hadn't felt a thing!

The two of them were so proud to have their ears pierced, and almost marched to the bus station - but I was right - H's earrings are always a little wonky!