Uses for Small Children number 67:

If you receive a shiny helium-filled balloon from some of your thoughtful work colleagues, how do you get it home? You can't really go walking through the hospital corridors and down the street, in your shirt and tie and briefcase, carrying your own balloon. So, you come home and you say,
"Guess what girls? I got a balloon for my birthday today at work"
"Where is it??? Did you bring it home???"
"No"
"Can we go get it?? Can we? Can we?"
"Sure"
Then you walk your little people over and get them to carry the balloon. They skip down the hallways and into the lift and down the street, waving the balloon in the air and passing it between them. And the looks you get from passers-by are all sweet smiles .

Heather's Point of View

Look Dan, we found it!!

It really does have a hidden room behind the library shelf, secret tunnel to Lake Echo, roof-top telescope, staffed cafe, bowling alley, IKEA ball room. It's also within a 15 minute walk to the hospital and school and grandparents' house.
Asking price: one million, six hundred fifty thousand pounds.
I'll just be asking for money for my birthday this year. No presents.
I need to get out there and make quite a few new friends. And invite them to my birthday.

See, I really am spending time on this website looking for funny graphs.

posted by Sharon, who has just discovered the funny world of graphjam.com, coutesy of Bethanne's friend sarah's blog.

Petal Strewn Pathways

One day, when we have our own house, the walk to the car will never be this pretty.

AntiFouling

Apparently if you are a boat owner you have to paint the underside with antifouling stuff every year, to stop your boat becoming...foul. I think it also stops barnacles and seaweed and gunk from sticking to it, which would slow down your sailing.

I have a good friend who is a better woman and a better mother than me, I am not ashamed to admit. She recently had the rare opportunity of a day off to herself, and she used this day to do some antifouling. I have to admit, this didn't seem like my dream idea of "me-time", but she enjoyed the journey to the boatyard, the sun, the radio and the solitude.

Well I have taken on antifouling as a metaphor. I realised my own hull was getting pretty foul, thinking foul thoughts, resentful thoughts, some grumpy old barnacles and seaweed seemed to have attached themselves to me, (never mind that my hair looks like a pile of seaweed most of the time). I felt slow and dragged down.

So, I spent today antifouling. I had a long long sleep and spent most of the day alone, reading, praying, drinking tea, having lunch out and I bought myself some new shoes.
John kept the girls entertained and occupied with bike rides, seashell collecting, church and chocolate, and they even went to the store to buy a delicious dessert and some pretty flowers for me.

As a result, I feel well and truly anitfouled! Happy and rested and ready to steer this ship forward for the next while.