Our week in review

Outside our window: The orange balloon is still hanging on the cherry tree, slightly deflated and smaller now. The birds are singing and rushing between their seed feeder and a nip at the peanut cage. The magpies are annoyed that there aren't any worms anymore. They have thrown down the water dish to show their protest. I think I better get some more. Blue skies the last couple of days and the sun peeking out are very much appreciated. However it is very chilly and the forecast shows a few snowflakes for Monday. Big Monkey is carefully optimistic that there might be snowman building after all.

From the kitchen: Saturday: Pizza night as always, Sunday: Drumsticks with mushrooms, peas and potatoes and Apple cake with Lemon Curd Big Monkey and I baked in the morning. Monday was the Chinese Feast in honour of Chinese New Year. Tuesday: Chicken fajitas, very lovely but not much liked by the Monkeys who preferred to eat the Tortilla without the chicken. Wednesday: Chicken and Brokkoli, Thursday: Pasta, Friday: Lunch at the Waffle House, Ham and Cheese Waffles and Banoffie Waffles with Ice cream. Sausage, Potatoes and carrots.

In the learning room: Still Maths, we have been working on speed and used a timer to see how far Big Monkey comes in a minute. Not that far at the moment but still no mistakes in the results she gets. We will keep working on that. In other things we learned about China and proper and common nouns. We made fun sheets to come up with examples for each. Then we started with the 24 hour clock, which Big Monkey quickly understood. However, I realised that her counting in German isn't good enough for that, she can't count the minutes as the highest number she knows is 12. We're now up to 24 and in tens to hundred. It doesn't help that German counting is saying the units first and then the tens, exactly the opposite way to English. More eye rolling from Big Monkey ensued. We studied the Roman Gods and Goddesses and have started with the Roman Home at our trip to Verulamium.

We've been creating: Chinese Lanterns and a Chinese Dragon puppet. Little Monkey brought a ball of plasticine with things stuck in back from Messy Play. He loved it especially since it coloured his hands a fetching dark blue. I've started another attempt to get control over my chipboard stash. I'm absolutely positive that this is capable to procreating. How else could I have so much? It is also extremely good in finding hidy holes. There are by current count four spots I found it hiding. I had a ruthless cull and thrown out the weird unrecognizable shapes and all the Hallowe'en things because we don't celebrate it and I don't want it in my house any longer just in case it multiplies again. Now I'm painting the remainders and put them in a drawer. When this drawer is full I shall get rid of any that don't fit. Alphas go in the little boxes. That is the plan, at least and so far things move slowly in the right direction. I also finished the Christmas photos on my desk and surrounding. That included even a few from last year when I didn't scrap any photos. But now I'm over all the baubles, trees and lists.

Favourite things: Last Saturday Daddy Monkey and I had dinner at our favourite Japanese Restaurant. The staff have made little origami roses in aid of the Japanese tsunami victims.

Spring must be close. Please. No snow.

Things we did: We went to St Albans and after the visit to the Museum we walked through the park to the Restaurant. On the way was a field full of "mole holes" that had to be inspected. Big Monkey insisted that she needed to check whether there was grass under the heaps of earth and that it needed rescuing. Little Monkey was happy to help. We also had to have a conversation with the local ducks and geese. The moment they spotted us they came towards us in a big line which had Little Monkey in fits. "Don't eat us! he cried. Don't follow us!" he screamed. "Shooo, shooo!" he ordered. They eventually lost interest.