So I have been sorting out a lot of closets in my mega exciting life right now.  Having 3 boys there are lots of hand me downs.  I wish I knew someone who had a younger boy than Rory - someone who could truly make use of his old baby things but I don't so we have had lots of trips to Goodwill (charity shop).  With Bee on the other hand there is no real handing down.  A friend of hers at school has a younger sister and I give some things to her, others go to charity but after a friend of mine was telling me about selling on Ebay I decided to give it a go.

It can be time consuming, not the photos actually but writing a decent description.  It is interesting to see what gets bids and what doesn't.  It doesn't always make sense it is very hit and miss.  I seem to get a lot of watchers but then certain things still don't get bids which is confusing to say the least. 

Anyhow, I had sorted out a lot of Bee's things.  She is quite average size  for her age and some things, especially those from UK it seems, fit her way after she has grown out of the age.  She has a pair of shorts aged 6 that still fit fine even though she is 9.  She wears a uniform at school so the weekends she picks out her own clothes (usually) and there are lots of well worn things just because she hasn't actually grown out of them. 

When we had Rory we moved Paddy and Mac into the same room and they got the larger chest of drawers and Bee got a smaller set which meant rearranging her clothes slightly.  As it was winter I put all her summer pants into a chest - or I thought I had.  Then in her closet I normally have a shelf of things she has outgrown that I can get rid of.  So I sold quite a few summer capris a few weeks ago.  What didn't sell went to Phillipa or the charity shop. 

Went to look in said chest this week to get summer capris/trousers out and found only Barbies and THEIR clothes.  Turns out I had, this winter put her summer bottoms in the closet..... and the things I had sold.... thats right, they were actually the things that still fit her.  Why I didn't realise I don't know.  Probably as she has had them a few summers and there was nothing very new in there..... Oh well.  She hasn't noticed so I will have to just go shopping a little before she works it out.  Big whoops there then!!!

Yes I am a book addict, I know this, but I am also getting quite addicted to this.  Try it and let me bknow if I am alone....

http://www.pogo.com/poppit-stress-buster

So 2 unrelated topics but both are looming large at home.

Spiderman 3 is out over here and my children are aware of it (clever advertisers) but they did not see the first two films and neither will they see this one.  However they know all about it from cereal packets, adverts, and radio etc.  I don't give in very easily on things like this.  I learnt early on that just because a cereal has a picture of latest cartoon character on it, does not mean that the children are any more likely to eat it.  At all.

So hubby took Mac (3) shopping at the weekend - a list of 5 things he needed to get from the supermarket.  He came back with over 20 things, not all of the 5 we actually needed and it seems Mac had persuaded him to also buy a Spiderman 3 box of cereal.  Actually they are Reese's Puffs (Peanut butter flavour).  I am not a peanut butter fan but even if I were, would I really look forward to the taste at 6.30am?  Not sure.  So the box says it has a Spiderman squirter inside.  So the kids can maybe use it in the bathtub.  But when we open the said box we find that yes, we do have a squirter but it is not Spiderman but one of the other characters from the film - the new Goblin - well Mac has never heard of this one and is not impressed at all.  Much wailing came about but then he had a brainwave.  He decided he had seen an advert which told him that EACH TIME you open the same box of revolting cereal, there is a new toy inside... so Spiderman would be here soon, very soon.

Let's just say that breakfast times have not been great the last couple of days and I have no idea where the New Goblin Squirter is and the sooner we are done with this box of peanut butter balls the better.  Oh incidentally, hubby is quite blameless in all this he assures me.  He also had nothing to do with the wrestling of said box away from Mac this morning causing these bloody balls to go all over the floor - one way to get rid of it though.

On another note... Bee now has braces and yesterday we had to go back to have the torture contraption expander fitted.  Tonight is the first time I twist the key on the said expander in her mouth.  Had a go at the office yesterday and the dental assistant said " Right.  Mmm.  Maybe if you make her lie down it might be easier and if you keep having problems you can always come back to us."  She was obviously full of confidence at my abilities then!  For those of you who have never done it, imagine an IKEA bed where you need to use an Allen key, upside down and the key inevitably falls out when you are only 1/2 of a turn in.... well it's like that but in the girl's mouth....

Paddy was also with us as even aged 6 he has a lot of adult teeth through and already the bottom ones are growing in crooked and the top ones I keep expecting to come through at the Celine Dion before intervention stage (have you ever seen her photos from pre-dental work?).  However X-rays showed that Paddy has no chance of the teeth coming through as there is such a bottle neck.  The recommendation is to extract 4 of his baby teeth asap. 

I suggested June may be a good time as parents-in-law are in town and would maybe help.  Orthodontist then said 'Oh, you mean they may chip in?'  Once I picked myself off the floor from laughing so hard I explained to him that they won't even pay for their own dental work (hubby's dad cancelled a trip once when he had to pay 135 quid for one of his own crowns).  I meant they would be around to help with logistics of children etc. If they had to pay they would keep the money, use a bottle of whiskey, a rope to tie him down and a pair of pliers.  No kidding.

Here in America it is Mother's Day tomorrow. My children are not great at keeping surprises and waiting until the actual day it seems so already from Mac I have a cute silhouette of his head in a frame which he decorated - very yellow as that is his favourite colour right now - it is very very cute.

From Paddy I got a hand made nite book and a card.  Inside he had written "Happy Mother's Day.  I love your cooking.  Love Paddy."

"Oh, that's so nice, thank you Paddy."

"Yes," he said, "I WANTED to write '  I like your cooking sometimes - I mean mainly the desserts, but Miss Cray (teacher) wouldn't let me."

Mmmmmm

I mentioned before that I loved Mark Haddon's 'A Spot of Bother.'  I recently sent a copy to an American friend as a present and she is, she assures me, enjoying it so far.

She wrote in an e-mail that a few things she didn't quite get:-

"Quiff
RIBA journal (real estate?)
Y-fronts (furniture?)
Gammon (some kind of food)
Flymo (vehicle?)"

Even I had to look up the RIBA despite having read the book.  Laughed out loud at what her guess was for the Y-fronts!!!

Believe it or not, Mac has finished pre-school/playschool for the summer.  That is correct.  Mid May and we are finished.  At least Bee and Paddy have another 3 weeks at school.  Has England even had their half term yet?

Even though it is quite daunting to have the next 3 and a bit months to fill with him, he has changed so much over the past few months it should be quite fun.  He is getting better with his temper, he is playing alone a fair bit and is a lot easier to manage.  He is very obsessed with the fact he will be four .... in September.  Every time we go to the supermarket we have to look at birthday cakes.  At one place we always go to look at the toys and he is so funny in that he doesn't want anything there and then, but instead he shouts "Put it on my list" and then runs on.  Not sure if that is a Christmas or Birthday list and he certainly isn't keeping track.

So, the weather has improved, I am on a planting mission this weekend (in the garden) and even though we had a hail storm (I kid you not) this week, it is feeling very summer like.  And in a way having Mac home is  one less place to have to drive to, another chunk of the day free from time constraints (drop off and pick up).  Remind me of all of this when I am pulling my hair out in a few weeks, won't you?

What do you say to someone whose nearest and dearest is on suicide watch?  After years of their mental illness, their  inability to have children, anything I say I fear can be flippant or just 'let me tell you about these little ones, the likes of which you may never have?'  Now I hear nearest and dearest is telling the Doctors not to share any current information with the other half. 

So hard to know the tone and how to be there for someone in the correct way.  Suggestions?