Tuesday 26 Feb

School trip today to the Kennedy Center for a Magical Mozart experience. It was more magical than I had feared with a bus load of five to eight year olds - a trio from the National Symphony Orchestra played harp, flute and oboe, and managed to carry the audience through a fast-forward version of "The Magic Flute" which seemed pretty impressive. There were four adults with our class, so I was walking around with a string of seven children dangling from my hands! First photo shows them getting ready to leave school, second shows the survivors about to head for home. Tom looks like he needs the bathroom, but I think he's actually dancing!

A great ski experience at the weekend - we hauled ourselves out of bed on Sunday and drove ninety minutes north to the little resort of Whitetail. Fresh snow, gorgeous sunshine, and at last Tom really and truly learned to snow plow. Whoopee!

That Friday feeling

Tom and I are settled on the big red sofa watching the "Cars" movie, celebrating the fact that the weekend starts now. Richard should be home for tea in between his two (!) Friday shifts, then going back to anchor the news for the world.

I took T out of school twenty minutes early, but made the BIG mistake of telling him why, as we headed for the bus-stop instead of heading home. When he learned that he was going for a vaccination - his third and last Hep B - he screamed and shouted and made a run for it. An entirely logical reaction, which meant I had to pick him up and bundle him into a cab. The driver did a commendable job of keeping a straight face as Tom informed him hysterically that I was not his real mother but, and I quote, "a bug eyed alien from Neptune".

The Calvin and Hobbes free association continued as we got to the medical centre, and Tom informed the nurse that he was in fact "a duplicate" not the real boy. (Calvin has a high-tech duplicator machine cunningly disguised as an old cardboard box). When she stuck the needle in, he screamed extremely loudly and she fled. Then I gave him a lollipop and he trotted out into the waiting room chattering away happily and came home cuddling up close to me in the cab.

Phew - that's the last of the small child vaccinations. Tomorrow is a day off for ALL, thank goodness. And we're thinking of going skiing for the day on Sunday, since the resort of Whitetail only ninety minutes away has a forecast of sunshine and snow. Or perhaps we'll just be lazy. Keep you posted.

love to all

PT x

Ski slopes and roller coasters

Guess who's on the mountain roller-coaster at the Wisp, Maryland ski resort? One very excited five year old who insisted on going "faster, faster!" the whole time.

Tom also put up gamely with two mornings of ski school, which as far as we could see consisted of bundled-up tinies queuing endlessly, riding up the "magic carpet" escalator and getting a few goes at wobbling downhill. He came out of Sunday's session beaming and bouncing and pointing at the steep "black slopes" saying he was ready to ski fast! But we realised he still can't really hold a wedge - the snowplough or "pizza slice" shape he needs to be able to slow down and, er, brake. That's Tom, all go-faster attitude, no need for the nitty-gritty practicalities!

Still we had a lovely final couple of runs on Sunday going up on the chairlift and down the gentle green slopes together, holding hands and guiding him along. He was thrilled. A habit is born. An expensive habit - but it was such fun to be out in the open again.

Today, Tuesday, it was back to school for T and back to work for us. What a week for news! A new state of Kosovo, a new coalition for Pakistan, and a new leader for Cuba on his way. And oh yes that U.S. election season is still rumbling on...

Waiting for snow

We've had a lovely cosy weekend doing pretty much nothing - except R and I eating and drinking way too much last night at a lovely grownup Spanish restaurant, and now preparing a fishpie supper for friends this evening. Tom has been delighted to do Lego, Lego and more Lego, plus a couple of big plays in the park. He was thrilled just now to learn that it is only five days before we go to Wisp resort for our ski weekend - look at him being cool in all the gear!