Life is a Drama

As the school term draws to a close, a few details of Big Brothers school life are starting to dribble down. Its production week next week, and they are doing Aladdin and his Wonderful Lamp.
We asked who he was in the show.
'I'm a fruit seller'
'And do you have any lines?'
Pause. Pained look of concentration. Inspiration hits:
'CARPETS, CARPETS, COME AND GET YOUR CARPETS'
'So you are a fruit seller?' I asked a little confused
Pause.
'No, those are Hamish's lines!'
I can't wait to see him on stage. I hope he remembers what he's selling and doing, but one thing is for sure, it will be hilarious.

Meanwhile baby girl is pulling herself up to stand at the furniture. She is also standing independently for a couple of seconds (until she realises how clever she is). I have forgotten how fast this 6 months goes - from a baby in arms, to sitting, then crawling, standing and soon, running away from me. She is less a baby and more one of the kids everyday. The other day the boys raced off into their room and closed the door, not realising she was following at stop quadripedal speed. As the door closed she let rip with a howl that nearly flattened the house. I opened the door and Flick, off went the noise and into the room she trip-tropped. She will not be ignored or left behind. She has truely claimed her place in this family and it will not be at the bottom of the pecking order.

Working Theories

Little Brother at 3 is making sense of the world. In three short years a lot of information has been downloaded into that fizzing brain, and it's only now that he can tell us all his working theories on How It All Works. He's a little scientist, proposing If/Then hypotheses and putting them through the most rigorous testing process that he can possibly think of - asking his Mum.
'Mum, If a house is broken Then you have to leave it.'
(Impressive, I thought, he's been picking up on a bit of current affairs, earthquakes....)
'Really! ' I replied 'And what do you think could break a house? '
'Oh, if some-one blows it over'.
(...or he's been reading Three Little Pigs).

Friday nights have become Pizza and Movie Night - I make bases and the boys experiment with different combinations - tuna, corn, cheese, sauce. Mostly ingredient islands piled high in the middle of a pizza continent. Then they have to agree on a movie to watch. Its a tense time of lengthy negotiations and international trading. Little Brother has a strong sense of justice and a long career in Peace Keeping ahead of him. 'If we watch Piglets movie tonight then we can watch Thunderbirds tomorrow night'. Big brother has a strong bent to drama - 'But (stomp) I NEVER get to watch Thunderbirds (run into room and slam door)!!!' and understands the power of emotional blackmail 'If we cant watch it then I wont be your friend'.
Through the flour dust and frantic rolling (not to mention shovelling mash in the direction of Little Girl) I am trying to encourage one boy be more assertive and the other to consider other peoples feelings. So much for an easy tea once a week.
Little Brother came to me with a brilliant idea the other night - 'Hey, Mum, If we had TWO pizza and movie nights a week then we could have TWO pizza and movie nights!'