Confessions of an Unfit Mother

So, not the worst week in my journey called 'motherhood', but certainly not my best. A whole catalogue of misdemeanours this week.

On Monday, I forgot it was Matthew's snack day at school. No biggy - they have some reserves for situations like this and on Tuesday I bought replacements and even remembered to send them in with him on Wednesday. I don't always remember these things - one week I sent him twice without his packed lunch!!!

Then on Wednesday, after my lunch, I sat down on the sofa with my knitting and the CNN news. Next thing I know, it's 2.20pm and his school is on the phone asking why I haven't picked up him and his buddy (we carpool - they pick up Matt in the morning to drop him at school, I pick them up from school and bring them home). Even worse, the friend always asks to come to our house after I pick them up. That day I'd asked his mom if that was ok, and she agreed as long as he was back home by 3pm to go to gymnastics.

Well, we pulled onto their drive at 3.05pm, and obviously there was no playtime. Luckily the parents have a sense of humour and laughed when I said I was napping!!!

So Thursday, I had promised to take my boys along with Teddy's girlfriend, who we also carpool with, to the "Orange Juice Factory" after I collected them all from school. Of course, I forgot that the boys had a dentist appointment that afternoon.

I called girlfriend's mom in the morning to tell her and she said that girlfriend had been talking non-stop about the trip. Doh!!! So, we're going tomorrow morning instead.

Hopefully my final infraction, of this week, anyway, was at the dentist. Poor Teddy has to have 3 cavities filled. This is on top of the 2 he already has filled. And there are another two they're going to 'keep an eye on'. Bad mommy needs to make sure teeth are brushed AND flossed and juice is off the menu.

Ack!!! At least we're all still alive.

Onto a much prettier subject. Y'all were right about two of the paintings in my living room being Van Gogh's Starry Night and Seurat's A Sunday on La Grande Jatte. But the prize goes to Beverley who guessed at this painting by Monet. It's called The Thames Below Westminster and is, appropriately, housed at the National Gallery in London.

Beverley, something will wing its way to you real soon :0)

I've been really lucky to have seen some of the most amazing paintings in the world at some of the most beautiful galleries in the world. Mona Lisa at the Louvre, a bunch of Goya's, including Saturn eating his Son, at the Prado in Madrid. My all time favourite, Van Gogh's Starry Night at MOMA in New York.

London has my favourite gallery of all though. Tate Modern on the South Bank. It looks over the river directly at St Paul's Cathedral, houses some of the best and most controversial 'modern art' and most incredibly.....it's free.

So, here's a question for you "Best Art?". Discuss/Blog

Have a fabulous weekend :0)

ART

Your result for What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test...

Balanced, Secure, and Realistic.

16 Impressionist, 7 Islamic, -2 Ukiyo-e, -21 Cubist, -15 Abstract and 2 Renaissance!

Impressionism is a movement in French painting, sometimes called optical realism because of its almost scientific interest in the actual visual experience and effect of light and movement on appearance of objects. Impressionist paintings are balanced, use colored shadows, use pure color, broken brushstrokes, thick paint, and scenes from everyday life or nature.

People that like Impressionist paintings may not alway be what is deemed socially acceptable. They tend to move on their own path without always worrying that it may be offensive to others. They value friendships but because they also value honesty tend to have a few really good friends. They do not, however, like people that are rude and do not appreciate the ideas of others. They are secure enough in themselves that they can listen to the ideas of other people without it affecting their own final decisions. The world for them is not black and white but more in shades of grey and muted colors. They like things to be aestically pleasing, not stark and sharp. There are many ways to view things, and the impresssionist personality views the world from many different aspects. They enjoy life and try to keep a realistic viewpoint of things, but are not very open to new experiences. If they are content in their live they will be more than likely pleased to keep things just the way they are.

Take What Your Taste in Art Says About You Test at HelloQuizzy

I really liked this quiz, seen on Jo's blog. It's true, I LOVE impressionist paintings. My living room has three framed posters to prove the point. Here's a quiz for YOU. The paintings feature a night sky, a London waterfront and a day in the park. Can you guess the three artists? I'll send a little something in the mail to anyone who can guess.......

Glad to be in the USA

Aren't you glad to be in America these days?!

I'm pleased that Barack Obama was voted in. Who knows whether 'change' will happen or not. We can always hope (whilst remembering that he's a politician, after all).

And yesterday was Veteran's Day. We don't have that holiday in the UK. We have Remembrance Sunday, the 2nd Sunday of November. Otherwise known as Poppy Day.

To segue nicely into knitting, here's a photo of the afghan I hurriedly made up for a Joann's class I'm hoping to teach this month and next. Doesn't it look great in our leather chair with the Old Glory pillow? They call it a holiday afghan and the pattern calls for four balls of Lion Brand Homespun. I already had a couple of balls of red, so bought another couple in green, to make it VERY holiday-like.The class is called Knitting 303, but the pattern is SO freaking easy and only a few lines long. Don't know how Joann's came up with that. But I do know that this yarn was amazingly soft and the afghan itself is unbelievably cosy. I never thought I'd say it, but I'm thinking another one for home might be nice. It took only about 4 days to make, so was quick too.
Now, do you remember how our 'office'/spare room looked earlier this year? Thought not. Here's a quick pic to remind you. Gross, or what! Well, one advantage of having your house on the market is that you have to clean it out.

We spent a good bit of time on this room alone, and this is how it looks now. Ta-da.........

A little more respectable.

Of course, we've still got a tiny bit left to sort through.......

Where the frick.....

have I been?

Doing a whole lot of stuff actually.

I went to the UK to visit my very sick Grandfather. The Welsh for Grandfather is Taid ( pronounced like Tide). He's an awesome guy who served in the merchant navy in the 2nd World War. Afterwards he was a monumental mason, making gravestones and other memorials. You might remember my Nan passed earlier this year, so when I heard he was ill, I dashed over there as soon as I could.

Turns out, after a nasty scare involving pancreatitus, diabetes and "old age" he's still as strong as an ox. Go Taid. It was great to see him and great to spend some time with some other members of my family.

In knitting news, I've almost finished my Kureyon blanket. Here are all the squares I have laid out. And to give them some sort of scale, here are my boys........
Four of these 'strips' of squares are now sewn together, but two remain. I thought I had 20 squares, but alas, not. I've bargained for the final ball of Kureyon and await it's arrival before I place the final 10 balls into the last two strips.

Bigger news involves our family moving up to North Carolina. Charlotte to be exact. My DH's younger, younger sister already lives there. We've visited a few times and LOVED it. Not to mention it's home to the Turtlegirl. My in-laws who currently live closeby will also be moving there. Exciting times. Let's hope someone buys our house soon. Or at least by Florida's "season's" end anyway.

More catchup soon, but for now, let's make-do.

Sayonara
Disco xxx