Kids

W Sisters Story T on Operational Security

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T has on a few occasions mentioned passwords to me. She wanted me to guess the password to open her journal that she has that she draws in. We get the girls little notebooks that they doodle in. When they fill it up we get another one. They got ones in Italy and they would sit and draw paintings at museums. They were getting full by the time we went to Ireland last May and got them new ones there. I have also picked up one or two that have little locks on them.  They both requested them and even spent their own money to get them.

T has a notebook that does not have a lock on it. The other day she asked me to guess her password. I tried a few times and couldn’t. I was getting a little annoyed with her since she kept insisting i guess. I had no context to go on so guessing was going nowhere. Then I realised she did not want me to not just pull a password out of thin air. She had written about 30 or so odd lines in her notebook. Each started with a letter and then had other charicters and maybe a letter or two throw in.  The page she showed me is this posts picture.  It looked like she made her own sheet of passwords. She asked me to guess what one was hers to open the book. I guessed the password that started with the letter T. She smiled and said i was correct.

It wasnt the first time she talked passwords.  It was the most recent and also the most involved effort put in by her.  I find it very funny that she is in some odd way she is already thinking about operational security!  That and she really liked the spy “job” at Kidzania both times she went.

W Sisters Short On I Missed a Concert

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I went out for a bike ride the other day and the girls were inside playing. I came back less than 40 minutes later and our back garden was re-arranged like this. No one will tell me what sort of concert or event I missed. Apparently something was on though.

W Sisters Short and Going to The Toilet Before Leaving The House

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Note this story was written well before social distancing.  When we could go visit friends…

Today I was trying to get the girls out of the house so they can go to a birthday party. The part was only a few doors down the street at a friends house. As is typical I wanted them to go to the toilet before they left the house.

When I asked A to go she said “there is a toilet a x-friends house. anf I know where it is” at that point I really didn’t know what else to say. It was a perfectly normal retort, and a little bit funny to me. I wanted her to go before we left however the logic was pretty infallible that I had to just leave it.

Note on the photo.  It is not a toilet sign, however it was a really funny graphic in the shower in iceland.  It was the closest thing i had to work with as a picture for this.

W Sisters Short on Shaving

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One morning on my way out to go to work I must have been running a few minutes late. Or the girls were up early. Either way they both were awake when I was leaving. That is unusual for me.  When I goto the office I typically leave a sleeping house. Both girls insisted on giving me hugs and kisses (as they do usually). I never have much complaints about that unless it gets into requesting it 3 or 4 times.  That also can happen so it becomes a challange since who am I to pass up extra hugs and kisses even if I am trying to leave the house.

This morning in particular T inspects my cheeks before she asked “did you shave?” Only after I answered positively did she decide to kiss my cheek.

I am loving (most of the time) the little personalities they are developing.

W Sisters Shorts and Out at The Pub

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Before issolation stopped it some of the dad’s and I from A’s class have been meeting up every few weeks. We hang out and have a few drinks a a local pub. We switch off between different local places to meet up at. It has been nice to socialize with some local people outside of work. We have been making some level of effort since the school year began.

The other night I was getting ready to go out to a meetup. Ussually we meet at around 7:30 or 8PM. So I leave right around bedtime for the girls. I said goodbye to M and the girls. M was getting them ready for bed. The girls kept enquiring where I was going. They wanted to know if i was going to eat dinner? I pointed out they just saw me eat so no. Finally i said I was going to Pub XYZ nearby. A responded “Aww, I love that place”. she was dissapoonted. I had to explain to her that it was only dad’s going out and no kids. She was still not pleased. I will remember this responce the next time i try to go there and she automatically says she doesnt like it, even though she does.

W Sisters (and me) Short on Shake Shack

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I wrote this pre issolation and just haven’t gotten around to publishing it. Back in January I went with the girls to Shake Shack.  It is funny how a very NY thing is all over London.  There is one across the street from my office.  I have never been there however I have walked past it often. There is one in Covant Garden that we have been to a few times. There is also one we go past now and again in the mall at Stratford.  The girls like to goto Shake Shack now since they can play foozeball and ping pong.

The last time we went the cashier asked me if I had been here before.  What raced through my mind was proudly thinking “Yes.  I have even been to the original one in Madison Square Park the week it opened”.  I have no problem admitting I hate lines and Shake Shack was worth the hour wait at the time.  Since I am in England I was proud of my more subdued reply of simply “Yes” to his question.

Post photo is of the original Shake Shack in NYC. Not from the first time I was there. Some other time what feels like a lifetime ago.

W Sisters Meet Harry Potter

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There are some things that I knew I would do with my kids even before I had kids. Star Wars was a huge success with them. I was suprised that i was able to watch it with them when we did. They liked it so much that last weekend they just asked to watch Return of The Jedi.

Doctor Who they took to a bit less. They were a bit scared to the point the walked out on the first episode with the 13th Doctor. They still get their Doctor Who fix via action figures and other memorabilia we have in the house.

M and I have both tried to read the Lion the Witch & The Wardrobe to them. The girls have not been into it. I also tried to read the Hobbit. It was over a year ago so i likely should try again. When I did try they were not into it.

I have avoided watching the Harry Potter movies with the girls. I wanted to rad the books with them first. Around when the isolation started M began reading the Big Friendly Giant to the girls. It inspired me to go out and order Harry Potter and the Philosophers Stone. When we moved to England I forgot that i left a box of books and games at my sisters house. In that cache of stuff was my Harry Potter books. I have all of them in hard cover. Since I didn’t have those I settled for a paperback version.

M finished the BFG last night. As I was wrapping up work tonight the girls asked if I could start Harry Potter with them. I of course agreed. I read them the first chapter tonight. They had lots of questions. I had to try very hard not to answer. I did not want to ruin anything for them.

Going to bed T took the book with her so she could read ahead! So many parenting dreams coming true!!!

W Sisters Short on The Kindergarten Lunch

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Back in the mid 2000’s when my friend Jay and I used to work together we would joke around about going out for “kindergarten lunch”. It was code for going to eat lunch anytime before noon. We did it often enough.

For some reason it always seems like little kids in kindergarten (Reception/ Year One for my British friends) always havr lunchtime scheduled so early. Whenever we thought of an early lunch we would think of that. Almost 15 years later I still use the term constantly.

On the first day we had swim class after Winter break the girls insisted on lunch out after the class was over. ibsuggested McDonalds since i didnt want tobdo shake shack, the other option they line at the mall.

I knew I was getting the full experience when even after spending 15 minutes at the lego storw we still had to wait five minutes for them to start making lunch. Breakfast was still being served. We stood there watching them flip the signs from breakfast to lunch at 10:55 AM. i was proud of myself for not ordering a bacon sandwitch in the advert i was staring at while waiting. it looked really good.

The girls were happy with the final result.

W Sisters & Swim Class

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London Aquatics Center Pool

This term we sign the girls up for swim class. This was something we wanted to do for a while. They haven’t had proper swim lessons since camp in the summer of 2018. After doing some research M settled on a place. She settled on the London Aquatic Center. It is pretty spectacular that if the girls are going to have swim they have it at a pool that happens to be a former Olympic arena. It was physically further than multiple options for us. Yet without a car it was one of the most convinient to make regularly.

That means when it’s my week to take the girls swim I get to hang out in what was once the Olympic swimming stadium in London. The picture above says it all. If you want to inspire someone to swim somewhere this is the place. Full disclosure the girls are in training pool as 180° around from where I took this picture. Either way pretty impressive to come here as a regular thing. The girls think so also. After their sessions they like to sit on the ledge and have a snack and watch swimmers. Every so often it is very crowded with a tournament. It is pretty cool.