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Monday 10 January 2011

Craving Normalcy

Christmas is well and truly over : tree out, fairy lights hopelessly tangled up and put away ready for next year's annual Swearfest, tinsel more or less hoovered off the carpet, elderly relatives woken up and posted back home.


But we are still not back to normalcy at Blighty HQ. ( Love the word "normalcy", so much more important sounding and transatlantic than "normal" and "normality". It's even got into the Oxford English Dictionary, albeit in brackets with "N. Amer" next to it, I suspect the original draft written by some fusty old codger read "N.Amer oh how ghastly, first hamburgers and now this, whatever next ..." until the editor very wisely took that bit out....)



We have yet to achieve Normalcy chez Blights as Boys 1 and 2 are STILL not back at school. Unbelievable. Their Christmas hols seemed to have lasted about 2 years. It seems a long time since Boxing Day when we did this.



Since playing on the Wii nonstop for 3 weeks, the boys now have to be dragged everywhere



Now all the snow has gone, and so has Mr Blighty - back to his office, including weekends. He is still busy trying to Get Something Out because someone important Needs to See It. Apparently. In my darker moments I wonder if he is just avoiding leftover turkey recipe 51 (rissoles a la Dettol). In exciting news Mr B's boss has been made a "Sir" in the New Years Honours. How I long for Mr B to be knighted, then I could be Lady Blighty which would look really good on my Tesco loyalty card..sadly no chance of that, I am afraid, but a deluded middle aged woman can always dream...



Well, the hols have been very nice, quality time and all that, but please could Boys 1 and 2 go back to school. Now. I need to get on with important motherly activities like reading detective novels, drinking tea and ordering nail polish over the internet - sorry, I mean, making nutritious food for the freezer, ironing and er, stuff like that.


The boys need to go back to school and become reacquainted with Real Life and their lower limbs - they have been doing far to much of this.







Grandma has been doing sterling work entertaining them: reenacting William Tell was perhaps not the best idea but the poker has gone down a treat; every night I just have to make the boys give Grandma back the title deeds to her house and her car keys, and all is well.




But the end is in sight - school beckons this Wed. In preparation I have begun the Shoe Ritual. Boy 2 is putting up a spirited fight against getting hand me down football boots - the latest argument, most forcefully put by Mr Shouty himself, is that he is shrinking, so all these boots are too big and he needs swish new boots from the fancy pants sports shop. Good Effort Boy 2, have you considered a career in politics (but you may wish to turn the volume down first)?



More bl**dy shoes, where do they all come from, do I have 6 children rather than 2?


And now a mystery: where is Louise from Townsville? Yoohoo Louise - are you out there? Louise is due to be in London any day now and I am hoping to meet her. Louise - email me if you read this!!

Finally, I continue to be interested in baby things due to you know who's exciting news (no, I am not talking about Mrs Beckham). Look at this Baby Dior clobber, isn't it all divine? I wonder if they do that pink furry coat in my size? Because there's no chance that I'm shrinking! Not after Christmas!


















Just had a thought: if Boy 2 persists with this shrinking malarkey, I shall threaten to buy him this pink coat. That'll put a stop to it.

18 comments:

  1. Come to the US. Drag me around. I promise not to complain about shoes:).

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  2. Glad you've enjoyed your holidays.
    Normalcy is a great word, we N.Amer's get some things right...like sending our kids back to school on Tuesday, non of this waiting until Wednesday business!
    Take care and do update us on what you are reading and what coordinating polish you're weraing!

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  3. Dear LPC and L, so nice to hear from you, I have been such a bad blogger recently, annoyingly people keep needing feeding etc Will try to pull my socks up, blogwise.

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  4. I do so love to go to baby shops...being a grammy has me going into any I see...so many cute things out there too.

    What a sweet pink coat...if it did come in your size I am sure that OPI has a colour suitable :)

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  5. hi blighty,

    i cannot believe that your boys are not back in school yet. that should be illegal.

    i'm so excited about the expected ff baby. i can't stand it. i wished i lived closer.

    xo
    janet

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  6. Glad to hear from you Blighty and am very glad to see you've got your priorities straight re Motherly activities and school hols. If you figure out that shrinking thing let me know.

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  7. Speaking of Tesco, I once fell for the Tesco cool bag in white/red/blue. It starts falling apart but is the best I ever got!
    Speaking of WII, Christmas Eve at Sister Paula's house was a good one: part of the family lost its dignity in front of the TV set (7 years old niece and 13 years old niece plus my brother and law and myself).

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  8. Blighty!

    I love the baby Dior.

    All the best for the first day back at school.

    SSG xxx

    Sydney Shop Girl blog

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  9. Sonshine went back on Thursday, which was a pity because I had him ready to expel from the house at 8.30am on Wednesday.

    *passes over the gin bottle to Blighty*

    Welcoming you back to the Child-Free Blogging Zone :-D

    Ali x

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  10. Dear Lady Blighty (I am getting in early), I did my education in a British Comprehensive in Hong Kong and used to say normal and normality but was corrected when I was at Uni in Sydney to say normalcy. However, don't you find that most things aren't normal but are in fact quite strange - we are simply used to them. For example, the Chilean Educational Authorities who must be completely bonkers have decreed that the school year does not start until the first week of March - Chileans do not find this odd at all. When we get back to Chile, Mr LiC's solution to these extended holidays is a month's driving holiday down South. I fear that he has Shackleton aspirations (do you recall the 4000km car trip we did up and back from the Atacama in a week - mad as a cut snake). My children will go like lambs to school after this experience. On another note I think I will share some maternal guilt: after forcibly sitting on youngest child to enforce flossing, I have discovered a possible two holes. "Why didn't you tell me?" "I keep trying but you simply say, Teeth! Bed!" !!!@#$%^%$#@#&^%!!!!!!!!

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  11. You are a breath of fresh, lovely, English air!

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  12. love all those sweet baby outfits! Mrs Beckham copied me!

    xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

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  13. I've found Baby Dior a little disappointing myself. Very chic, but the buttons fall off/ shrinks/ colours fade the first time you wash it. I think it's meant for people who can afford to throw it out after its first wearing. Not for people who's children smear banana all over it and they don't have staff to run out and purchase new outfits for them.

    Agree that school holidays are too long. I'm looking at another 3 weeks... and I've already had 3. The last stretch is the hardest I always think!

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  14. The Baby Dior is Heaven. I particularly love the leopard coat and trim on the dress. Perfect for FF! Normalcy isn't really applicable here in Australia at the moment, what with all the floods. We are just waiting with bated breath to make sure all our friends are A-OK.

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  15. Hello Mrs Blighty! I have nominated you for a Stylish Blogger Award, visit my blog to see what this entails... :)

    http://sofrenchy-sochic.blogspot.com/2011/01/look-at-me-im-stylish.html

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  16. Dear sofrenchychic, I am very excited re Award, I am tearing up Gwyneth P style even as I type, will hotfoot it over to your blog to see what I have to do..does it involve cake? hope so.xx

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  17. A fiendish government plot to reduce the size of the population. Half the kids in England must have gone missing by now on account of their frazzled parents going postal ( another US useful word).

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  18. HERE I AM - I TURNED UP IN ROME.
    No idea how, because I've had NO INTERNET for nearly three weeks.

    My holiday posts will keep me busy till at least June 2011, since I haven't been able to post anything.


    I have already emailed you.
    Lots of love
    LOU
    xxxx

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My post is all Norma No Mates, cheer her up by commenting!