Shimmery Pink

Today Lara did something for the first time yet. Dani and Paul had gone to get a couple groceries, I was getting supper ready, and I noticed her going in and out of the balcony, carrying some objects with her. Curiosity got the better of me and one of the times she was indoors I quickly peeked outside and saw a neat arrangement consisting of two bottles of nail polish, a small bowl of water, some spiffy hairclips, a brush, and two flasks of  princess cologne which had never seen the light of day.

I quickly went back in again and resumed my supper preparations as if I had seen nothing. Out she went again after a while. This time she stayed out, and I could hear her humming to herself happily.

After some minutes, she came into the kitchen with a beautiful headband on her dampened and somewhat frazzled hair, poking her fingers out stiffly in front of her, beaming proudly, eyes shining.

I caught my breath a bit, because suddenly I realised this was quite a milestone for my little girl - my girl continually immersed in a book, jumping on the trampoline, drawing and painting feverishly, and making up stories - there she was, toenails and fingernails painted a shimmery pink, and to top it off, swathed in a heady combination of two perfumes.


I exclaimed over her pretty appearance and rolled my eyes at how good she smelled, while she squirmed with pleasure and did her little "happy dance" that has become such a part of her. She begged me to let her do my toe and fingernails as well, so on this balmy evening afternoon I forgot all about supper preparations and sat down with her on the warm balcony floor. She warbled a happy tune as she painted my fingernails, brushed my hair, attached a bright turquoise flower on it, and doused me thoroughly in Cinderella cologne.

It was a priceless, precious mother and daughter moment in my day. I will always treasure it. And somehow I know she will as well, because while we were having supper later on we shared a Secret Smile and I felt my arm tightly squeezed...

Snapshots of a Week

These are the moments I want to keep alive in my mind - let me share some of them with you.

Oblivious to everything but the shimmering glow on the water and the warmth at my back

On a quest

One thousand sensations

Discovering joy together

New friends

This is how you make dreadlocks

Journey

Far away in time and space

First art attempt

HOUSEWIFE SURVIVAL TIPS

My ample experience in homemaking has allowed me to develop some state-of-the art tips for those other housewives foundering in never-ending tasks and becoming desperate for some free time and rest. Here go the first two.


How to keep ironing to a minimum.

1.Hang the clothes out to dry.


2. Let them remain on the line until it rains.


3. Allow the clothes to become soaking wet.


4. Leave clothes on the line until they are dry again.


5. Repeat step 2 as many times as necessary.


6. Remove clothes from line, which by now will be as smooth as lake on a summer day, fold, and put away.


7. Enjoy a cup of tea and a magazine.





Management of leftovers and tupperwares.


1.Place leftovers in a tupperware. Do not worry if the amount is smaller than one serving - keep it anyway, just in case.


2. Insert tupperware in fridge, preferably towards the top and back.


3. Peer into tupperware occasionally, sniffing contents suspiciously if necessary.


4. When the amount of mold growing over the contents is satisfactory, dispose of contents and wash container - or,


4b. Place container back into fridge for several more weeks. When contents are too gross to manipulate, toss the tupperware and its contents into the garbage.


5. When this process has been repeated several times, enjoy the thrill of buying a new tupperware set. You can also go to the cosmetics department and buy some lipstick, handcream, and that expensive gold powder shampoo you've secretly coveted for a long time.

I don't want to forget... from the month of April.

Sam is pointing at everything now. He strains against me, his whole body reaching out to what he's seen, little index finger stoutly pointing, every fiber of his being riveted on the object of his attention. The bear! Those three portraits. They had been Lara's when she was a baby. Now as I'm getting him dressed he repeats his solemn "ohs" over and over as he gets a glimpse of them over my shoulder. The bear finding the three eggs and showing them to the hedgehog. "Oh". The bear jumping into the water, splash!! and sending the poor fish into a backward summersault. "Oh, oh." Point, point. The bear swimming in the water - look! There are the three ducks. One, two, three. "Oh." Point. Smiling. He loves that bear. And the three owls too. The green one, the purple one and the blue one. "Oooh." He pats the box the owls are painted on, and they stare back at him in a rather friendly way with yellow unblinking eyes.


This week has brought new second hand bikes for the older children. Paul's red bike was getting hopelessly small for him and Lara, although her biking stlye is, shall we say, a little more serene than Paul's, also needed an upgrade. She is growing fast and her long legs were almost reaching her chin!


Paul has entered into a new biking dimension now - with his double suspension and 7 speeds, he controls the bike remarkably well for his age, and will grow into it soon. He hops around on one foot while he tries to sit on the seat now, and then he's off - who knows when his feet will touch the ground again.

Today was Father's Day - it has been beautiful. We had pancakes for breakfast with letter pancakes spelling out Papa for Dani, complete with Nocilla, sprinkles and whipped cream. We had a special lunch of hamburgers with all the toppings and French fries. The children presented Dani the cards they had made - Lara's a funny story about her as a baby and choosing her father, and Paul's with big letters complete with glitter. Lara read out the poem I wrote for Dani, and it was a general success - we all felt the love going around.