5th July 2004
Up with the alarm at 7.00 again. Down for breakfast at half past. We ate outside today seeing as it was such a lovely morning (they all are though!)
Becky and I took David to school and then she came home to pack for Madrid. I had another Spanish lesson (and passed my test on "food" vocabulary!) I had to explain to JoséMiguel that as it was the last week of school and all the children were going to be around next week I wouldn't have time for anymore lessons. He seemed quite disappointed, and it has been fun, but I think I have enough of the basics. Before my lesson started today I was introduced to his older sister who is my age. Looks like I may have found a friend :o)
Because I'm not sure of getting myself to and from Ramon's house in the evenings, his Mum is going to bring him to me today and tomorrow and then Becky and I will go over the route for Wednesday. I'm going to see how long I can keep the children in the pool this evening before getting them ready for dinner. :o)
I posted my first 2 letters home today. Everybody watch your letterboxes!
Julia and I collected David and Elise (Becky's friend's daughter) from school. Ramon's mum was going to bring Ramon to us later when she went to open her shop. Elise was fascinated by Luna when we got home but I tempted her away with an ice lolly. We were just about to get ready for swimming when the doorbell went and Ramon arrived, a good half hour early. Apparently he had been so desperate to come that he couldn't wait. Tomorrow we're going to get him straight from school to save his Mum the trip. So we all got ready for swimming - it was a race naturally, and went down to the pool at about 5.20.
Not one of the 3 children are over the age of 5. I have never realised how exhausting children are. In the pool I had to try my best to take it in turns to follow each of the "look at me"'s that were being shouted at me. Elise is just coming up to 5 and couldn't swim as well as the 2 boys. It was quite difficult for them to understand that she couldn't join them jumping in the deep end and wasn't comfortable being out of her depth. I found it quite hard to give everyone adequate attention. At one point Elise got in a sulk with me because she didn't feel I was watching her enough. She really was expecting my constant attention and appraisal.
It was quite draining. So she got into the little pool and told me to stay away, then she got out of the pool, sat on a towel. I went over and told her she looked cold and she said "I want to lie on my towel and have a towel over me" well we only had one towel each so I offered for her to lie on mine and put hers over her. That worked. After a while she got back in the pool but still didn't want to play with me, so we settled on playing a game where she got to poison me. Because I was so good at being poisoned we decided she would make me better and turn me into a witch! Then she turned into a fairy and both the boys turned into Harry Potter!! It was really good all playing together for a while because I could watch them all much more easily and not need to participate as fully.
We were going to get out at 7pm so that we could be dressed and sorted for dinner (cooked by Abuela) at 8pm. However, I got out of the pool at about 6.30 and wrapped myself in my towel and walked by the side of the pool watching the others play and dive and swim about underwater. Elise was enjoying swimming just out of her depth and calling for help. She had already proved earlier that she was perfectly capable of making it to the side of the pool herself so I told her to. She wanted one of the boys to save her and they both refused. So I leaned over a bit and offered my hand. David said "Ha, I'm going to push you!" and I told him I didn't think that would be a very good idea. However, he tried it, not expecting me to lose my balance, but I did and in I went with my towel. I reprimanded him and decided we would all leave the pool now.
By this point Elise had climbed out of the pool and decided, nearly in tears, that she wanted to go home, so I wrapped her up in her towel and took her back to the house, with the boys following. We decided we ought to put a film on whilst we all got ready so Finding Nemo it was! I swear if I see that film again it´ll be too soon!! We everyone sat on their towels on the floor and I got them out of their swimsuits but Elise decided she didn't want to get dressed. So I did the boys first and then Elise was ready. Everyone had a Flash (ice-pop to you and me) to quieten them down.
Elise came and sat on my lap and curled up. I could tell she was getting tired. She said she was hungry and could she have a biscuit. It was just gone half 7 by now and I was expecting her Mum any minute, and we were due to eat at 8 so I didn't want anyone to have a biscuit. She started nearly bursting into tears so we sat and concentrated on the film, talking about the turtles and everything else.
As her mum hadn't turned up by 8, we all went to number 27 to eat. Elise turned her nose up at everything. Saying "yuck" to it all. She wouldn't eat the homemade burgers, the salad, or the ham. She sat and picked at nuts and bread. I was so glad Abuela doesn't speak English, though I'm sure she got the gist of it.
David was really good and ate everything on his plate. Salad and all! He made no fuss. Abuela ran about trying to please Elise. She got her out a different type of ham that she had asked for, but then she wouldn't eat it. I started admiring how clear everyone else's plates were and all of a sudden she started to pick at her ham. She stopped to ask me to open two pistachios for her and I told her if she ate 10 little pieces of ham, I would. We all counted the ten together and it hardly took anytime at all! A fair deal, I thought. We all had watermelon for pudding, except Elise who asked for a banana and then wouldn't eat it. I ate it instead while she ate watermelon! She really was so tired. After she's eaten she just curled up on Abuela's lap.
When everyone had gone home, David and I went to number 25 to get ready for bed. He asked for one chocolate biscuit and I gave it to him on the condition that he listened to why I was giving it to him. I told him how pleased I had been with him today. That he didn't make a fuss when I couldn't watch him in the pool all the time, and at dinner when he ate everything. Salad and fruit as well as the bits he really wanted. He deserved it. So we brushed our teeth and put our PJs on and chose a book to read at number 27. I also introduced him to my bear, who I have had since forever, and he decided that my bear and his were going to make friends.
So I read to David and nearly dropped off. I went and got him a glass of water first. Once he was asleep I went downstairs to read for a bit. Abuela offered me chocolate and sat and watched tv while I read. We laughed at my broken spanish about how tired we were. Today was a good day, although it had problems I felt like I'd handled everything ok. Because I didn't want trouble I was very clear when they started doing things I didn't want them to and I found I only had to ask once. Sometimes twice. :o)
Becky and I took David to school and then she came home to pack for Madrid. I had another Spanish lesson (and passed my test on "food" vocabulary!) I had to explain to JoséMiguel that as it was the last week of school and all the children were going to be around next week I wouldn't have time for anymore lessons. He seemed quite disappointed, and it has been fun, but I think I have enough of the basics. Before my lesson started today I was introduced to his older sister who is my age. Looks like I may have found a friend :o)
Because I'm not sure of getting myself to and from Ramon's house in the evenings, his Mum is going to bring him to me today and tomorrow and then Becky and I will go over the route for Wednesday. I'm going to see how long I can keep the children in the pool this evening before getting them ready for dinner. :o)
I posted my first 2 letters home today. Everybody watch your letterboxes!
Julia and I collected David and Elise (Becky's friend's daughter) from school. Ramon's mum was going to bring Ramon to us later when she went to open her shop. Elise was fascinated by Luna when we got home but I tempted her away with an ice lolly. We were just about to get ready for swimming when the doorbell went and Ramon arrived, a good half hour early. Apparently he had been so desperate to come that he couldn't wait. Tomorrow we're going to get him straight from school to save his Mum the trip. So we all got ready for swimming - it was a race naturally, and went down to the pool at about 5.20.
Not one of the 3 children are over the age of 5. I have never realised how exhausting children are. In the pool I had to try my best to take it in turns to follow each of the "look at me"'s that were being shouted at me. Elise is just coming up to 5 and couldn't swim as well as the 2 boys. It was quite difficult for them to understand that she couldn't join them jumping in the deep end and wasn't comfortable being out of her depth. I found it quite hard to give everyone adequate attention. At one point Elise got in a sulk with me because she didn't feel I was watching her enough. She really was expecting my constant attention and appraisal.
It was quite draining. So she got into the little pool and told me to stay away, then she got out of the pool, sat on a towel. I went over and told her she looked cold and she said "I want to lie on my towel and have a towel over me" well we only had one towel each so I offered for her to lie on mine and put hers over her. That worked. After a while she got back in the pool but still didn't want to play with me, so we settled on playing a game where she got to poison me. Because I was so good at being poisoned we decided she would make me better and turn me into a witch! Then she turned into a fairy and both the boys turned into Harry Potter!! It was really good all playing together for a while because I could watch them all much more easily and not need to participate as fully.
We were going to get out at 7pm so that we could be dressed and sorted for dinner (cooked by Abuela) at 8pm. However, I got out of the pool at about 6.30 and wrapped myself in my towel and walked by the side of the pool watching the others play and dive and swim about underwater. Elise was enjoying swimming just out of her depth and calling for help. She had already proved earlier that she was perfectly capable of making it to the side of the pool herself so I told her to. She wanted one of the boys to save her and they both refused. So I leaned over a bit and offered my hand. David said "Ha, I'm going to push you!" and I told him I didn't think that would be a very good idea. However, he tried it, not expecting me to lose my balance, but I did and in I went with my towel. I reprimanded him and decided we would all leave the pool now.
By this point Elise had climbed out of the pool and decided, nearly in tears, that she wanted to go home, so I wrapped her up in her towel and took her back to the house, with the boys following. We decided we ought to put a film on whilst we all got ready so Finding Nemo it was! I swear if I see that film again it´ll be too soon!! We everyone sat on their towels on the floor and I got them out of their swimsuits but Elise decided she didn't want to get dressed. So I did the boys first and then Elise was ready. Everyone had a Flash (ice-pop to you and me) to quieten them down.
Elise came and sat on my lap and curled up. I could tell she was getting tired. She said she was hungry and could she have a biscuit. It was just gone half 7 by now and I was expecting her Mum any minute, and we were due to eat at 8 so I didn't want anyone to have a biscuit. She started nearly bursting into tears so we sat and concentrated on the film, talking about the turtles and everything else.
As her mum hadn't turned up by 8, we all went to number 27 to eat. Elise turned her nose up at everything. Saying "yuck" to it all. She wouldn't eat the homemade burgers, the salad, or the ham. She sat and picked at nuts and bread. I was so glad Abuela doesn't speak English, though I'm sure she got the gist of it.
David was really good and ate everything on his plate. Salad and all! He made no fuss. Abuela ran about trying to please Elise. She got her out a different type of ham that she had asked for, but then she wouldn't eat it. I started admiring how clear everyone else's plates were and all of a sudden she started to pick at her ham. She stopped to ask me to open two pistachios for her and I told her if she ate 10 little pieces of ham, I would. We all counted the ten together and it hardly took anytime at all! A fair deal, I thought. We all had watermelon for pudding, except Elise who asked for a banana and then wouldn't eat it. I ate it instead while she ate watermelon! She really was so tired. After she's eaten she just curled up on Abuela's lap.
When everyone had gone home, David and I went to number 25 to get ready for bed. He asked for one chocolate biscuit and I gave it to him on the condition that he listened to why I was giving it to him. I told him how pleased I had been with him today. That he didn't make a fuss when I couldn't watch him in the pool all the time, and at dinner when he ate everything. Salad and fruit as well as the bits he really wanted. He deserved it. So we brushed our teeth and put our PJs on and chose a book to read at number 27. I also introduced him to my bear, who I have had since forever, and he decided that my bear and his were going to make friends.
So I read to David and nearly dropped off. I went and got him a glass of water first. Once he was asleep I went downstairs to read for a bit. Abuela offered me chocolate and sat and watched tv while I read. We laughed at my broken spanish about how tired we were. Today was a good day, although it had problems I felt like I'd handled everything ok. Because I didn't want trouble I was very clear when they started doing things I didn't want them to and I found I only had to ask once. Sometimes twice. :o)
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