Kid Talk

Books, Books and Surrealism

1 Comment / Bookstores, cookbooks, Family Funk, Kid Talk, Travel Log /

First stop, after Cafe Nero for breakfast, was Foyles on Charing Cross.  OMG – better than the Tattered Cover in Denver because it’s well lit and modern and the books are new – except of course for the antiquities which I missed but TW saw – and bought… We spent a very long time there and could have spent a full day if we had left Master J at home.  E asked to go back at 5:30pm – even after a full day out.  It was that good.

Then we went back across town and walked down Portobello Road, without getting pickpocketed though someone else did while we were there, and got to Books for Cooks just in time to get a table for lunch.  I enjoyed the shop, and the lunch, so much that I PURCHASED COOKBOOKS.  TW also purchased cookbooks.  And, I bought one for RJ too but I don’t think she knows that I did.

We went home and dropped off our books and took a 15 minute breather and then headed across town in the other direction for a walk past Big Ben and a visit to Dali Universe.  Not enough paintings, a lot of sketches and watercolors but the sculptures… fabulous.  If we could combine Dali Universe in London with the Dali Museum in St Pete… now that would be a Dali museum! The kids enjoyed the trip more than I thought they would.  Surrealism is always interesting and at the end of the musuem they have a gallery with Dalis (and Picassos and Chagalls) for sale.  We all picked out one or six that we would like to buy.  Ah to own a Dali.

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Harry Potter Day

4 Comments / Family Funk, Harry Potter, Kid Talk, Travel Log /

The little children are huge Harry Potter fans so we had to visit Kings Cross aka Saint Pancras to see Platform 9 3/4 both the plaque and the platform where the scenes were filmed. Not only did we see these and take pictures there, the children insisted on acting out some of the scenes. And STICK TO YOUR TICKET became the phrase of the day.

From there, we went to Diagon Alley aka Leadenhall Market which was gorgeous. We arrived early and there were very few people there, which was nice. In London it can be hard to find tourist stops that are not crowded, heh. We had some very good hot chocolate and some really excellent orangy gingery biscuits there.

Then hours and hours at the British Museum. The Reading Room was a hit. The girls would have stayed there all day, Prince J was not as enthralled by it. We didn’t manage to see it all but we did see everything on the ground floor and about 1/3 of the upper level, maybe still a good bit. Unfortunately two of the rooms we really wanted to see were closed. Pout.

Another good, full, day – and an incredibly crowded subway ride home, which was good because we all should experience the madness of a London rush hour home.

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Tubes, Tea and Shakespeare

1 Comment / Coffee & Tea, Family Funk, Kid Talk, Travel Log /

The tubes at the Tate Modern were excellent.  If you are in London and thinking about ignoring the “get there early to get tickets” advice – don’t.  Underground slowness this morning put us about 45 minutes late and we got there just in the nick of time.  Our tickets were for 11:30 and by 11:30 they were sold out til 3pm.  They are well worth the wait.  I only did Tube 3 and it was a smooth and easy ride, not nearly as bumpy as I was afraid it would be.  I was going to do Tube 5 but decided not to push my luck and instead stayed with E while the others did Tube 5.  The kids, they had a blast.

The modern art, also a hit but not a huge hit.  They were most interested in the light board in one of the last rooms we visited.  Prince J was interested in Guerrilla Girl art, which was cool.  They all liked Dali’s lobster phone.  E was thrilled to see the Pollacks and explain all sorts of things about his work.  She also spent a lot of time plotting out future art projects of her own.  Mixed media seems to be her primary interest.  Nobody but me really enjoyed “The Kiss”, hmph.

The Cofee & Tea Musuem was a nice and easy 3 aisle walk with a full tea afterwards.  Cucumber sandwiches, crumpets, tea cakes, scones and cake – and several pots of tea.  We actually did the tea thing after the tubes and went back to the Tate for the bulk of the art after the Globe.

Everyone we had talked to said the Globe was the best but I was skeptical.  They were right, it was excellent.  The kids had a great time in the exhibit area.  There are booths that allow you to read lines of various plays and then they’re played back.  You can practice or you can just launch into it.  RJ did Hamlet, E was Juliet, Prince J was Lady MacBeth.  It was fun and they’d have been happy to stay there and keep reading lines over and over again.

When we got off the tube at Earl’s Court, some big “to do” was happening with red carpets and papparazzi and celebrities and limos.  I have no idea what we walked into but we were there, lol.

A full, full day – and a pretty nice Valentine’s Day, too.

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The Toys of London

2 Comments / Family Funk, Kid Talk, Toys & Games, Travel Log /

If you ever find yourself in London, you should DEFINITELY visit Pollack’s Toy Museum.  It is apparently off the beaten path because there were almost no people there – like two other families and that’s it.

It’s a tiny little museum but full to overflowing with fantastic toys.  Really great stuff.  My “new step-father” would be in heaven there.  It was full of everything he loves.  If you go, look closely because every corner of the place has something to see and it’s easy to miss something behind you or above your head because you don’t expect there to be MORE or something hidden under a stairwell.

The gift shop, also fun.  Lots of tiny little toys and wooden toys and miniatures and just fun stuff.

After that, we headed to Piccadilly Circuse to the “biggest toy store in London” – Hamleys.  Huge.  Much better than FAO Schwartz in either NYC or San Francisco.  The kids were beside themselves.  The young folks who are paid to demonstrate the toys are very good at their jobs.  I was impressed with their enthusiasm.  So impressed that we bought a UFO and I’d have bought more of the goods they were hawking but these darn kids prefer their old stand by faves – Sylvanians and Game Boy games.  Boring!

Toy day was a hit.

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Rain or shine?

2 Comments / Family Funk, Kid Talk, Travel Log /

Our first full day in the UK – London to be specific. We’ve walked more in the last day than we have all year and we’ve done a good bit of that walking in the rain. Damn weather! It’s a little annoying to walk with an eight year old who loves the rain. She’s a nutcase, but we knew that before this rainy walking started.

We’ve explored a multitude of grocery stores – Tesco, Costcutters and Sainsbury – plus a good many mini grocery convenience stores. We’ve been to several pharmacies and a few hardware stores.

We’ve purchased our special oyster cards and explained, or attempted to explain, the phrase “the world is your oyster” but I’m not sure the children actually “get it”.

We’re playing some gameboy, surfing some internets and reading some books before we head out to Holland Park for an afternoon stroll before “tea time”. It will probably start raining just as we walk out the door. hmph.

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All Michelle, All the Time

2 Comments / Family Funk, Holidays, Kid Talk /

We woke up this morning to discover everyone celebrating Michelle’s 17th birthday.  How did she manage that?

First, we have the NY Times running a story about Tiffany’s.  Long time fans of Flamingo House folks will know why this is a Michelle thing.

Then, we find the folks at “I didn’t know that yesterday” sharing the secret behind the candles on birthday cake.  Huh? Why today?  Oh, because it is Michelle’s birthday – duh.

Then, several rules are broken and Michelle opened her gifts at 9am and has spent several hours making an awful lot of noise.

Dinner will be Farah’s on the Avenue – no hookah but lots of falafel.

And then, Survivor.  And then, a late night jaunt with “the boy”.

Thank goodness she’s the one who is 17 and not me. I’m exhausted.

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On the first day of Christmas…

3 Comments / Friends & Family, Holidays, Kid Talk /

OK so it isn’t the first day of Christmas but today, it feels like it. 

We’ve officially kicked off the holiday with wooden ornament crafting courtesy of the nice women at APO Industries.  And when I say courtesy, I mean courtesy.  Rebecca was kind enough to send us a sample pack of wooden ornaments – free –  and all she wanted in return was for us to enjoy ourselves and then blog about it.  So here I am, blogging about it and we really did enjoy ourselves.

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Let’s do a quick review of the Flamingo House children, shall we?  Michelle is almost 17 and today, she is sick.  She also is in the midst of college finals.  Yes, let your imagination loose and you are probably getting a clear picture of Michelle today. 

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Next, we have Prince J who is 13 and even on his best day will tell you that he would rather NOT be painting.  And on a day when a brand new Eragon for Gameboy was waiting, well let your imagination wander and you’re probably getting a clear picture of Prince J. 

P1010004 Next up RJ, who is 11, and always agreeable even though she’s begun to experience that pre-teen angst.

P1010007And then Miss E who is always up for painting and crafting but is especially appreciatiave of holiday crafting.  There you have it – the kids who participated in the holiday wood ornament painting event.

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Let me tell you – it was fun.  And I’m not being even a little sarcastic.  Michelle was not her bubbley self but she did smile and she didn’t hide from the camera.  Prince J giggled all of the way through his painting, even as he said he’d rather be …. (fill in the blank).  This kid will rant and rave about crafting but he always does it with a smile and a laugh, it’s actually one of his most redeeming qualities.  P1010014
RJ chose the most complicated of ornaments and she did an excellent job.  The gold star on the candle makes it seem more festive, she says – and she’s right.  Miss E loved her rocking horse and reminded me very much of the year Jennifer and Christopher painted wooden horses for the holidays.  Kids grow too quickly.  Miss E enjoyed her painting so much that she painted the extra shape and would have happily painted more. 

P1010023For awhile, I thought we might pull out the wood burner and do a little creative burning onto these cut-outs.  I think Prince J would have liked that and the shapes would have handled the burning just fine.  Not enough time for that tonight, maybe next time we’ll give that a try and then stain the shapes with an antique red or antique green stain.

Yes, there will be a next time.  You can see the entire gallery of photos, here.

Now about the wood cut out ornaments.  The set we had was the Jack Collection – 5 ornaments for $5 and free shipping.  The shipping was very, very fast.  The only thing you need to remember is, it doesn’t come with paint and the set doesn’t come with string or ribbon.  I don’t find either of those to be a problem, having paint around the house is always a must when you have kids and I prefer to choose my ribbon and string for these sorts of things anyway.  Rebecca also sent us the Dog at the Mantle – 2006 ornament.  I’m actually going to stain that and use it as an embellishment on a gift for a certain family member who shall remain nameless because he/she reads this blog.  Heh. 

If you’re looking for a wood ornament craft then I’d recommend Rebecca and her mom at APO Industries.  And if you order, I’d love it if you’d blog about it and link me to your blog.  (Especially if you share photos of the fun!)

On the first day of Christmas…. lalalala

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Daily Dose of Kids and Construction

1 Comment / Day to Day, Kid Talk, Pet Peeves /

The house next door is getting an addition.  I thought at first it was going to be a swimming pool.  Then I thought it was going to be a fence (they are one of the few houses without a fence).  But then construction got going and no, it’s an addition.  Which doesn’t make sense to us because the people are old, there don’t seem to be many people who live in the house, and the house is already very large.  (And no, we’ve never met them even though we have lived here for 5 years.  Oh except Chris who met the old dude when he fell on the sidewalk and could not get up.  Chris helped him up and since then the dude rides a motorized scooter around.)

So that construction.  It is bugging the big kids. 

Michelle ranted last week that there should be laws preventing construction noises at 7am when she is trying to get another half hour of sleep before school.  She ranted and ranted.  I reassured her that it wouldn’t take long because they got a TON done and it looked like it just needed a roof and some finishing on the outside and then surely the inside construction would not wake her.

This week, they are in fact working on the roof.  And now Chris is disgusted.  Not with the noise of the hammers and stuff but with the ridiculous chatter of the construction workers.  His room is right next to the construction site and apparently these men talk about the DUMBEST stuff.  And he simply cannot take listening to their idiocy any longer.  So he left to hang out with people who don’t talk about dumb stuff.

I’m finding the whole construction thing sort of amusing simply because of the angst it is causing the big kids.  Too loud when she’s trying to sleep – ha.  Dumb conversations – ha.  Payback in the form of construction workers.  Who knew?

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