The week Grandad came to visit

I've finally written to our MP about the Badman review. I'll put it in another post, with a copy of the reply if I get one.

Freddie said the most amazing thing the other day. His water went down the wrong way. Once he'd got over it and had another sip, he said that his tiny points had changed. What an interesting (and pretty accurate) way to look at it.

We've had a great week so far. A few activities and themes have been recurrant:

- mazes. Goodness Freddie has got through dozens and dozens! A whole book, plus 20 or so I printed off from a 'maze maker' (found that gem in the muddlepuddle yahoo group).

- Imaginative play. The most frequent have been Robot and Roboty the dogs. They've come in the car with us, gone to bed with Freddie, need feeding, walking etc. Another favourite has been going on holiday or going to work, complete with Grandad's pull-along overnight bag. Lots of pirates - fighting, chasing other pirates, finding treasure.

- TV. *yawn* Tom and Jerry, Tom and Jerry, Tom and Jerry.

The highlight has been a visit from Grandad. We picked him up from Milton Keynes on Wednesday. Freddie and Betsy were so delighted, it was very sweet. Freddie insisted that Gerry sit next to him in the back of the car (thus making me taxi driver) and pointed out every car, van and truck on the road. He also pointed out that things far away were very very small. Hmm, the beginnings of a conversation about perspective!

We'll be taking Gerry back to MK train station tomorrow, the plan being to go into the station and wave him off, and have a look around at the trains.

We've had a few other bits and pieces to do. We went to Thame to the play centre there, and on the way home got stuck behind a huge combine harvester trundeling along the road. We noticed that the big bit normally at the front was being towed behind. We checked out youtube when we got back, looking at combines in action, then stumbled across footage of a combine and field on fire, with a fire engine coming along to put the fire out. Cool!

It was the last swimming lesson before the summer break. I saw that some HE families meet up at Chesham open air pool on Monday afternoons. What a lovely thing to do. I've emailed asking if my kids are a bit young, but I hope some others are there with little ones. I think we'd love to go.