Awfully Chipper, my favourite diaspora blog, has a linky running at the moment called Snapshot. I wanted to join in last week but life got the better of me and scuppered my plans. Tonight I am seizing the moment and taking a mental snapshot of life lately. It ain’t real pretty but here it is.

Listening to

As I type I am listening to the sound of the keyboard as I tap away. In the background is the hum and clank of the dryer. The Bavarian probably thinks I can’t hear it since it is in the cellar. But I can and it is telling me that when he “hung up the wash” he cheated.

Music wise, I have mostly had the radio on in the background in the kitchen and in the car. When I have put on music deliberately it has been a CD. I am very old-fashioned like that. I haven’t hooked up to Spotify yet. The last CD I put on was Simon & Garfunkel’s greatest hits.

Watching

We got Netflix about a year ago. Before that I hardly watched TV. Even after we got Netflix I didn’t watch much. Lately though I have been watching a lot – mostly Call The Midwife, Modern Family, Chef’s Table or Grand Designs. I’ve dipped in and out of a few other series but for now I am sticking with those.

Playing

I would love to say I have been engrossed in wonderful, imaginative games with my three sons. But that would be lying. I was never much good at playing. Even as a child I wasn’t too fussed about it.

The children and I have been doing a lot of reading together lately. Number One mostly reads for himself but he still likes a bedtime story. He also likes to tell me what is happening in the books he is reading. Even after 8 years of being a mother to bilingual children, I am still amazed at how he can chat away in perfect English about the book he is reading in German.

Number Two has been learning to read and is making exellent progress now after having reached a plateau for a while. Today we picked out a children’s version of Heidi in the library for him and he read the first chapter to me in bed tonight. Last year I read the original book of Heidi to the boys as their bedtime story, so we had a bit of a chat about why the children’s version left out the sad bits.

Number Three has just entered the pirate phase. He has a few pirate books but the one with the flaps to look behind is his favourite one at the moment. Flicking through it with him and chatting is some of my happiest time lately.

Reading

There’s another installment of my reading challenge coming up soon, so I won’t go into much detail here. Tonight I started Mike McCormack’s Solar Bones, published by Tramp Press, a small Irish publishing house a friend in Dublin recommened to me. When I first opened the book a few hours ago, I was a bit put off by the style of writing. A few pages in I had adjusted to it and I will be having more of a read of it when I head up to bed later.

Looking forward to

May. May is what is keeping me going at the moment – a wedding, two communions, a hotel break with the family, The Bavarian’s birthday, a weekend away with the Bavarian’s family, being off work for a full 11 days, a trip to Ireland, seeing my family, being a bridesmaid for the first (and probably last) time and toasting my sister and her husband. I’m hoping I haven’t built it up too much, but I doubt I have.

Drinking

Rosehip tea right now. In general, not enough water, that is for sure. Too much coffee. Another certainty.

Wearing

Chunky knits, long-sleeve tees, skinny jeans and boots. Navy suede, tan leather or green wellies, depending on the occasion.

Eating

Yes and no. Not enough breakfast and lunch. Too many Twixes and slices of cake and one amazing steak. Last week the Bavarian and I escaped out mid-week (the only time we could get a babysitter) to a new steak restaurant in Karlsuhe. Uh-maz-ing, and I do not say that lightly.  I think I’ll have to do a full blog post on it.

Working on

My escape route from the day job, but who isn’t? The creative project I was focusing on in January and February has fallen by the wayside for lack of time. I need to get back to it. I want to get back to it. I will get back to it. Soon.

Permanently frustrated by

I was about to write “lack of time” but that’s not really true. I have time. I just haven’t got it at my disposal as much as I’d like. Things keep happening – lice, a broken dishewasher, children and spouses with colds, work trips and parent-teacher meetings. All that is keeping me more than occupied. I am not naive enough to think that these will pass and soon I will have all the time in the world. But if the lice stayed away and the dishwasher repair man would show up, that would be enough.

Enjoying

Early mornings before school starts and mid-afternoon when I get to collect the children. Despite the moany tone of a lot of this post, I’m happy with a lot of my life at the moment. Spring is here. I can walk the children to school or cycle with them. In the afternoons I have the chance to collect them on foot or with the bike. That ten minute walk or three minute cycle gives me perspective as well as a few minutes without work and without the children. A few moments of freedom. I have what a lot of working mothers don’t  – a car-free school run with one pick up time for two children and the opportunity to be able to manage working life without a minder for the afternoons.

Not enjoying

The sweeping, washing dishes, endless putting away of stuff, junk, yokes and the like that goes with small children. But that’ll pass. As long as I keep enjoying the reading, chatting, watching and even the playing that goes with small children, it’ll be grand.

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