Wednesdays

are always extremely busy.
This morning i brought the children to school, went grocery shopping, to the tanning bank, into town to get them new summer clothes and hurried back home. Unloaded everything, went out again to get Caroline a present for the girl who's party she was going to in the afternoon and bread.
Right before my own front door I realize i don't have my keys with me. It is 12.10 so i have about 20 minutes before i have to pickup the kids again.
I don't have a phone with me
I don't know Melissa's, Robbert's or even my sister's number by heart.
I am a bloody idiot.

Neither of my neighbors are at home.
Nor their neighbors.
Only 3 houses away the father of one of the kids schoolfriends is at home.
Now i can dedicate a whole post to that father alone (mad scientist type) but now is not the place nor time.

I squeeze myself painfully through dense growing bushes and plants, climb over fences, only to notice that yep, i did close the back door too.
I squeeze back and get Julien's ladder with him out of the cellar.
Again, i can dedicate a whole post to this scene, (Julien is handicapped and can only use one hand and swings with a leg AND has no light in his cellar) but now is not the place nor time.

I somehow get the ladder up my terrace.

Only to see it is not long enough for me to reach the balcony.

I put the ladder on a table

I chicken out when i put my first step.

Besides it must be high time I collect the kids and hey.... they can probably do this way better.

I squeeze back thru 3 gardens, tell Julien i will be back with 3 kids in 10 minutes to give it another go.

Morten wants to go play at a friend
Caroline has her princess dress on because - o right that too - it was the teachers birthday today
I tell them all I have a very dangerous assigment for them and need their help.

Never got out of school with so few trouble.

I ring Juliens bell.
We all storm into his living room, into the yard, i tell caroline that she absolutely definitely is not coming with us and squeeze myself for the 4th time thru the bushes.

Morten sees the construction i made and says he needs to think again.

I tell him he's absolutely right, but if he doesn't want to do it, i have his brother wai....

Before i can finish he's up on the balcony.

I guess i am going to give Julien a housekey.

The slings

Sunday night Robbert came home from a week biking in Mallorca (Spain)
The boys got a sling.

This is how i found my windowpane this afternoon.

I cannot believe

I flushed my cell phone through the toilet yesterday, but I did.

Than again, my precious husband than confided that's how he once lost his glasses on the very first day of a new job.
And had to wear sunglasses the next day which made him confess the whole thing again and again whereas i'll just say my battery is low and will phone the helpdesk tomorrow morning to order a new sim card.

Story of our life

Robbert and I reckon that by the time the kids are say, 15, we've seen some 50 judo tournaments in 50 gymhalls with the same group of 80 parents growing old.
Anywho.

Timo's got his yellow belt and Morten did so well he skipped another slip.

Caroline made a whole show of being shy and afraid coz these were different children but when we promised her a happy meal, her fears surprisingly vanished.

1 april

Yesterday, i got an email from the principle of the children's school
There is a project about digital harrassment and his school is invited to join in in an american (ofcourse) study that will be expanded to the Netherlands.
The children will get a chip under their skin (caroline was more concerned with where it would go instead of the very fact itself) and can be observed because of the signal all day. Of course camera's will be hung all over the place and the playground outside.
Some extra point for parents; we could watch our kid too on the internet, once we knew their 'codes' and could even correct them by giving out some signal to the chip. Just a mild one of course.

I couldnot believe what i was reading.
Let my co worker have a look
We were stunned.
I said to her; this is 1984, this is horrendous, i have to take my kids off that school

i called the principle.

is it true that you just send out an email?
Yes he said.

I am so shocked i said. I find this in NO way in line of the normal behaviour of your school. I don't understand any of it.

What date do you think tomorrow is, he said.

O. M. G.

This morning i found another email in my inbox.
Most parents understood the fun of it, but some had made complaints.
He had solved the whole thing by handing out chips (crisps) which the children loved.

Did you fall for something today?