Modern Family?

I love modern day assumptions...

Charlotte has a new Spanish teacher this year. He's new to the school. So in the first lesson he takes the usual 'stand up and tell me a bit about yourself' approach. She tries to say in Spanish that she lives with her parents, two brothers and two sisters and hamster... he stops her and corrects her Spanish, laughing, you realize you said 'two brothers and two sisters - that would make five of you'!
'Eh, yes actually...' 
'Oh! You actually meant that! Wow!'

Well who'd have believed it possible?

Sorting through my Amaia's 'first day at school' photos just now and having a wee trip down memory lane something struck me and surprised me. See if you too can spot it?

Marcel's first day at school (2002):

Charlotte's first day at school (2005): Disclaimer - I am 8 months pregnant, I am not a whale ;-)

Léon's first day at school (2010):

Anna's first day at school (2012):

Amaia's first day at school (2015):

It is a little hard to spot - I am apparently wearing the same skirt in the first and last photo! So it seems I change my house (and for that matter, my husband ;-) ) more often than I change the contents of my wardrobe! Hee hee!

A sweet family resemblance

At 1m40 and just 32kg Léon is a gazelle-like nine year old who springs everywhere he goes. He rarely sits still or quietly.

At 1m80 and 73kg Marcel is into weight training and swaggers around calmly trying to look like the coolest and most gorgeous eighteen year old on the face of the planet. 

However, faced with a deep gorge seven hours into a hill walk, the gulf between my boys seems suddenly to fade away to nothing!

Humans of New York in Pakistan

I check Hony every day in life. The photographer, Brandon, always meets the most interesting people and somehow manages to get their story.

For the past three weeks he has been in Pakistan instead, photographing the real people of Lahore. I so wish the Daily Mail, Mirror, Express etc readers could be forced to visit his page daily instead of reading their usual vitriol. It would truly make the world a better place. I take my hat off to you Brandon, for showing the world the real Pakistan.

Amaia

Love this photo Lots captured of her wee sister in Edinburgh on Monday - it is just her: the shy smile, the freckles, the bright eyes!

The boy who can't swear (yet, anyway!)

Léon is a wee bit of a goody two-shoes when it comes to swearing. Just shy of ten and he won't even say 'Shut up!', not even to his siblings when they are winding him up, preferring to mutter the likes of 'Nincompoop!' under his breath, much to their general hilarity! It's quite comical, particularly in a family of lexicographers and linguists where the nuances of even the worst swear words are often analysed over dinner and where we have a very relaxed attitude in general to swearing, because of our jobs. When you get paid to define or translate 'fuck' in a dictionary, it's a bit rich to ban its use in the house!

So once we noticed his aversion to it all, we decided to have some fun with it... Thomas started by showing him an article about the infamous Austrian beer 'Fucking Hell' and then asking his opinion about it. As a native German speaker (as well as Danish) Thomas was of course pronouncing it properly, so it sounded rather different to the English curse, but Léon stuck to his guns and refused to make any attempt other than calling it 'that beer Effing Hell'. 

Tonight, I was in the kitchen filling the dishwasher when the whining sound of his voice approached. Someone was obviously winding him, and he was on his way to complain. 'Sort it out between yourselves, you're old enough!' I shouted to pre-empt the clyping but to no avail. In he came to the kitchen and proclaimed 'It's Charlotte, mum! She called me a Smart Bottom-bad-word!' It took me a few seconds to realize she must actually have called him a Smart arse! I think we're going to have quite a lot of fun with this before he braves a Ron Weasleyesque 'Bloody Hell'!