Reprieve

Perhaps it was worth totally losing my cool (ie: acting as if someone had removed my brain for a period of thirty seconds). Since I lost it, Harriet has actually been trying to modify her behaviour, especially towards Ted, which has been our biggest issue. This morning we all snuggled into the bed together for ages and the two of them even hugged and kissed A LOT. I think that sort of bonding love was therapeutic for them too and made it a lot easier to continue the day in that fashion.

I really love the USyd museums. The Nicholson is prettier, but having a mindset that lends itself willingly to the underdog, I find it hard to go past Macleay in terms of likeability. It's hokey. It's dark. It's small. It's up three flights of stairs. In a dead end road. Off a back street. I *love* that. I love all of it. And every time we've been there, the staff have been so lovely and interactive. There's way too much GOOD GIRL and GOOD JOB for my liking, but Harriet is old enough to treat it with the attention it deserves, and Ted, as is his contrary wont, seems to be drawn into it with a disturbing attraction, but that's ok for a few hours once a year.

The theme for today was the coral sea and Harriet was very adamant on informing me prior to leaving the home that coral is actually an animal. Thanks for that. There was a crazy amount of craft there, and Harriet made a brittle star, feather coral, finger coral and...err...lots of other coral reef related items. Ted happily moulded plasticine ("why does this playdough smell so disgusting, Mama?") and made his own coral which was placed with great joy into the display reef . The children also received these little business card sized facts about different coral which are quite pretty. Clearly they are prettier than this poor lizard, although there's something rather austere about his expression. I love potted specimens and I really wanted to photograph this jar of iguanas; yes you read correctly, it was a big glass jar packed with about ten iguanas, all preserved, all moving around for the best position and totally transfixing to look at.

It was also lovely to have friends over for dinner too, although super chilly. We had to close the back door and have inside play, although the three children happily played right up to the sinking of the (weak) sun. Harriet's latest obsession is passionfruit. Passionfruit and Sylvanian Families. On Monday (remember it was a public holiday), Harriet handed us her saved up money, acquired from all sorts of odds and ends, and she purchased online the children's bedroom set, all $20 of it.

The next day, I had to check out at the front door if we had received a parcel. Four times. Yes, four times. I also had the request to bring up on my iPad the photo of her bedroom set about four times, so that she could gaze in adoration at the details and beauty of the Sylvanian Families bedroom set. I remember being in love with certain objects in a similar way at a similar age, and it's so sweet to see her being so incredibly excited about receiving this parcel in the mail. We talk about it around every hour - when it might come, where it might be left, whether it will arrive before school starts or after. What we should do if it arrives while Harriet is at school? (Never fear, contingency plans have been set in place for such an eventuality). Although my sanity may again be on the line, because I fear I have read of this condition before.

Before we headed out to the museum today, Ted went for an exploration up into the attic. He returned with a triumphant expression and Harriet's old cricket bag, full of cricket branding nightmare...I mean, cricket goodies. He excitedly dressed in Harriet's old cricket top (fluorescent yellow acrylic, anyone?), Harriet's old cricket bucket hat, Harriet's old cricket water bottle (spell BPA please), Harriet's old cricket bat (as tall as him) and finally, the cricket bag itself. He dressed in the hat and top and insisted on carrying the backpack all day, complete with the bat and water bottle in their correct pockets on the side. Whilst having lunch at the uni, Ted decided on some lunchtime cricket. In the tabled area. There were other people around (he announced with gusto "I'm having some water now, everybody" when drinking water to them in case they were worried about his hydration I guess) and I guess they can say they saw Ed Cowan 'throwing like a teapot' (which is what Ted calls bowling - he is pretty good at it and is super fast - ED by Jimbo: this is because that's the way I found that I could effectively explain how to roll the arm over. With constant reminding he does it properly, with a straight arm and can bowl reasonably accurately - not like in the video below). In fact one of the cuter things about him is that he calls bowling "balling". Oh man, it's so cute. And check out Harriet - laughing at Ted doing something silly instead of yelling and getting angry at him. It's a Christmas miracle!