A New Experience!


I looked after Jason & Claire's delightful girls today
It was the first time I have ever picked up kids from school and a first time doing girly things with a 5 and a 9 year old.
It was a delight.
I took winnie with me to the school,so I didn't look like a child molester and after I found the right door where each of the girls were let out we all skipped down our lane to collect wild flowers
Liv ( aged 5 going on 35) told me a long story about how ugly Winnie's bottom was whilst Eve told me what a good horsewoman she was...the chatter came as thick and fast as a machine gun going off.
We fed the hens,
Watered the sheep and the girls chased the turkey.
We collected eggs.
I had a panic attack with them walking too near the main road!
And we laughed about songs in school
They Cuddled the dogs. Ran screaming from the geese and told jokes about poo.

I washed dirt from knees, rubbed dock leaves on nettle stings and showed the girls what an onion plant smelt like......
Mum Claire picked them up at tea time
And I had to take myself off to lie down on the couch in the quiet!
I had looked after them for just over an hour!

77 comments:

  1. kids can be a handful; be thankful you could give them back to their rightful parents!

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    1. I take my hat off to parents, I really do

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    2. and Grandparents too!The best day of the week is the one which allows us to have our delightful grandchildren for a whole day to ourselves and yes, it is extremely tiring but one which wouldn't be missed for anything.

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  2. "I took winnie with me to the school,so I didn't look like a child molester"

    Winnie does though

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    1. No she doesnt! She looks like a hippo chewing a wasp

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  3. "I took winnie with me to the school,so I didn't look like a child molester"

    Winnie does though

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    1. Damn blogspot's random repetition of comments that probably were not worth making anyway

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    2. I particularly enjoyed that sentence!

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    3. I wrote it cos i meant it x

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    4. I will now have to tell the village children to avoid men with bulldogs. (Like I have tended to do for years actually).

      I never thought of it as a ploy, however, just as a standard accompaniment to the union flag tanktop and bulging belly

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  4. Sounds as though you did all the right things in spectacular fashion!

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  5. Oh John you are a darling x

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  6. you did such a good job they are going to want you to pick them up all the time!

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  7. Sounds just about right !
    Only no laying down to rest there is more to do after tea,
    before you can lay down in a quiet room.
    I too hope you didn't do a good job or the girls will want you to pick them up at lest once a week.

    cheers, parsnip

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    1. Gayle... Do you know
      I would like that
      Very much

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  8. Wait till the word gets out that John takes in children, if only till tea time.

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  9. And a good time was had by all, well maybe not by the turkey, but everyone else. I don't know how parents find the strength to keep up. I needed a nap after reading about it. I am becoming very good at taking naps.

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    1. I know... I have learned only yesterday how difficult it is for someone close to us to cope with a child with special needs.....
      I am in awe of their abilities and patience

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  10. I am not sure why, but this made me all teary.
    I'm such a sentimental dishcloth of an old woman.

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    1. "sentimental dishcloth of an old woman" is a phrase I am using today. Thank you.
      x

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  11. Oh, now you've done it. They'll be calling again soon. lol

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  12. I don't know how parents do it either, but I think you have had good practice with nurturing all your animals and friends.

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  13. A new role in your already very busy life...

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  14. You have opened a whole new can of worms, John. Good thing Jason only had two! Just kidding, it's fun to look at things from a child's prospective.

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  15. Sounds like they broke you in well!

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  16. Anonymous12:48 am

    An hour with younguns can seem a lifetime.

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  17. I'm worn out from just reading your post -- And you had an hour? It deserved a Scotch egg, I think!

    --Hope your girl Meg is doing okay/better....

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  18. Well, you got worn out in an hour because you packed so much good stuff in that hour! It's your own fault :) Two very cute little girls!

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  19. ROFL I have been there. I don't really babysit LOL but did it a couple times over the years LOL... :o).. with no kids of my own its always a enlightening thing lol

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  20. Admit it, you had fun and enjoyed every minute of it. I am sure though, that it was a relief when their parents took them back and there was still time for you to take a nap.

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  21. LOL! I'm knackered in exactly the same way if I have to have kid time! Don't know how my sister does it!

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  22. Oh i wish my child had someone like you in his life.

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  23. I hope they realised how lucky they were to have survived your ordeal. My sympathies to you, but don't make a habit of it.

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  24. Aw - that story reminds me of my little girls. I have an abiding memory of them (9 and 7) running through the fields with Daisy the Airedale. Totally carefree. Now 28 and 30, one living in Oz.

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  25. Good practice for when you're at ours.....suck it up Greybags!! Nx

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  26. Next time just do what most modern parents do .... sit them in front of the tv with a sugary snack and let them play on an IPad or some such gadget. Much less tiring ;-)

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  27. Oh, I wish you were around here when mine were young. But saying that, they would appreciate your company now. (boy 29 still at home studying/boy 26 working with adults with autism etc/girl 18 sensitive, fragile artist with heart condition).
    There is no normal here.
    Susan
    mother - losing the plot daily

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  28. Anonymous7:17 am

    Oh gosh, little L would love it at yours. Fresh air, a bit of mud and animals. She's almost become feral this week she's spent so much time outside. You are a very kind man John. I bet the girls loved it and will no doubt be back again. X

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  29. They are very cute and charming!

    rubbed dock leaves on nettle stings

    There's a ton of curly dock growing at one of my worksites. I've been eating the dock leaves and am planning on grabbing a bunch of the seeds to eat (never done that, but they are supposed to taste like buckwheat). Even better, the mulberries are ripening... I bought a dropcloth so I can just shake entire branches and catch all of the berries, because I'm greedy.

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  30. Dogs are easier…they don't talk all the time and expect an answer! What will you call the after school playgroup ?

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  31. Bet they will be telling others all about their adventures, I could see this becoming a regular feature.
    Lisa x

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  32. Ah, the joy of entertaining other people's children for a while!
    I collected my friend's two girls from school in France a few times and took them home to make cupcakes. The first time I was as nervous as hell standing by the school gate in case any of the French parents challenged me about why I was there - and I do actually look like somebody's grandmother, so I can understand how you felt!
    The cupcakes were a great success but the kitchen looked like a war zone afterwards. Removing the icing sugar fog and glitter from everything took weeks! You were wise to entertain them outdoors!

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  33. It does get easier John if you look after kids all the time (but not much). The thing that struck me as I got older is that you never stop worrying about your kids however old you and they are.

    As to the jam and cream on scones - I always have cheese ones if they are available as I like them best.

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  34. What a delightful hour or so. I bet the girls couldn't stop talking about the fun they had. Well done you x

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  35. John ….. Jason's girls must have had the BEST time. I know when our children were that age, they would have loved doing all of the things that you did with them { mind you, so would I !!! } I have to say that, now I'm older, it's so much more tiring looking after our grandchildren. But, as you have now found out, it is so very rewarding. I'm sure that they are looking forward to the next time !! XXXX

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  36. See - you DO like children!

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  37. I'll drop Milo off tomorrow ;-)

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  38. The punchline being...all this occurred in just over an hour! You filled that hour with more than I achieve in several hours :)

    Those two little girls are going to be clamouring for you to fetch them after school more regularly. You did wonderfully!

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  39. I bet they can't wait to see Uncle John again! It must have been quite an adventure for them too!

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  40. Kids! That is so sweet. I remember when I was at Teachers College having a four week classroom placement with 5 year olds. For a week I went home with a splitting headache from the bat squealing noise they made! my friends who were teachers assured me that the brain gets used to it. As it happens I only taught fro two years. It was enough ;-)

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  41. OMGoodness, I did a double take when I saw the photo. I have an almost identical one of me and my 'bff' at a few years older. My first irrational thought was 'where did John get that picture of me?'. We were easier to entertain - just leave us with a tin of old buttons and we'd be quiet for hours (still would be). x

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    1. Its a google photo... Not liv and Eve!

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  42. What a lovely post. I've never met a kid who doesn't enjoy talking about poo or bums. Mine still do and they're in their twenties! hehe.

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  43. Well done you! Children teach us much about ourselves ~ enjoy!

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    1. And I should add that ~ it takes a village to raise a child x

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  44. Job well done, John!
    Now, let's hear it for all the parents out there!!!

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  45. Sounds like you all had fun. It is hard work. My girls are 9, 7 and 5 itß mad but we love it.

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  46. Child minding is not for the weak! You did very well and I'm sure you and the animals will be remembered with fondness. When our grands and great grands are here it's the animals they want to flock around.

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  47. Hahahaha! I just laughed at your last sentence....I had looked after them for just over an hour!

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  48. We non-parents don't realise just how exhausting kids can be. I once looked after an especially boisterous small boy for an evening. He was a total tornado of activity and chatter. Afterwards I felt as if I'd flattened by a steamroller.

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  49. Mummy! Mummy! Please can Uncle John pick us up from school again?
    Mummy! Mummy! What is a scotch egg?
    Mummy! Mummy! Why does Uncle John fart twice as loud as Daddy? Is he jet-propelled or something?

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    1. Mummy mummy why is daddy zig zagging across the lawn?

      Shut up and reload!

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    2. Your humour is even more wicked than mine!

      Mummy! Mummy! I don't like my little sister!
      Shut up and eat what you're given!

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  50. I like this post:)

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  51. Well, to be fair, that was a mighty full hour!!

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  52. And so sweet of you to let them wear your hats!

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  53. You've got more energy than me. I got tired just reading the post :) Sounds like you and the girls had a great time.

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  54. Now I'm doubting my own sanity having just volunteered to have my grandchildren, age 4-going-on-14 and the 9 year old technical whizz-kid from next Friday afternoon until Sunday afternoon. Oh heck!

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  55. Bloody brilliant! As a deputy head of a primary school, I wish all of our children had that much fun at the end of a school day!! You've lifted my heart, thank you xx

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  56. You can look after my two next!

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  57. An hour! Other people's kids can be tiring... Especially if you want to do it all so well.
    I hate that men even think that they might be seen as child molesters. It is a sad sad byproduct of our times. I catch myself having thoughts like that and it makes me sad.

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  58. An hour! Other people's kids can be tiring... Especially if you want to do it all so well.
    I hate that men even think that they might be seen as child molesters. It is a sad sad byproduct of our times. I catch myself having thoughts like that and it makes me sad.

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