Anyway, the thought popped into my head at the weekend about how much simpler it would be to do these things when you are younger: 3 before 3 for example: 1. improve language skills; 2. play all day everyday 3. perfect the art of eating like a dog. So I asked Orla: "what 5 things would you like to do before you're 5 years old?"
And this is what she told me:
FIVE BEFORE FIVE
1. Tidy my room.
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| Hamish was a massive help. And yes, it is nearly Christmas again. Only 286 days folks! |
I feel as though my daughter may have been briefly possessed by my mother. I don't know if Orla thought she might be getting some kind of strange row about something, but this is not the response I was expecting. But hey, don't look a gift horse in the mouth as they say. Bunny, I think we can make that happen! Heck, maybe even by 5 o'clock if you really want!
2. Go shopping for toys.
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| I love the first photo: Orla has on her 'I want some over-priced Barbie nonsense' face, and Hamish is engrossed in a Barbie hair-beading set. Awesome! Hoola-hoops and unicorns - it's what 5 year old dreams are made of. |
I had suggested to Orla that we might go to a toy shop in order to see what she might like from her other granny who has very kindly plonked money into our account so that she can spend the money that would have gone on postage on skipping ropes and sweeties. So we went to Karstadt. Orla's a funny one. I never know what she really likes. I know that she loves drawing and painting, so anything along those lines works well for her, but toys-wise she can be a mystery. She likes 'whatever the girls in her class like'. Which makes it difficult as I have no idea what they like.
3. Do that bead thing.
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| Look into my tired eyes, not around the tired eyes, and you're into a deep sleep:YES, it IS the perfect time to 'quickly & magically' tangle my hair into undo-able knots. And 3,2,1, you're back in the room. |
We have this purple box of little teeny plastic beads sitting on top of the wardrobe. It's actually a hair beading kit, and it's been up there since Christmas, mostly because every time I think of it in Orla's hands I imagine having to chop big chunks of hair off of her head that are tangled up in beads to an extent that is unsalvageable. I am starting to wish that 5 was another year away. And if this hair beader falls into the hands of Hamish then we're all in trouble.
4. Make a cake.
Easy. We do this all the time. Practically weekly when the weather is bad. No problem. Except we didn't. We made yorkshire puddings instead to Delia's recipe. And ate them too quickly to take photos.
5. Do my homework.
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| God, I hate maths. Even reception-level maths bores me to tears. And finger-counting makes me want to scream. You already have TEN fingers so we agree on that so let's not start at 1 again....pleeeeeeaaaasssseeee. |
Really? Is it possible that she was switched at birth with another studious baby that looked an awful lot like Stevie? I think she must have been running out of things to achieve before reaching the momentous age of 5. Getting your homework done is at least a good aim to have. I should be encouraging that instead of going 'eh???'.
What a brilliant idea and a lovely blog post! The pics are fab. The 'tidy my room' set were my favourite. I'd love to try it on Milo but his answers would inevitably are be ''Thomas'' or ''bon bons eating'' which is mostly what he talks about these days. Orla choices were pretty amazing. I think as a kid I would have followed my Milo's route of asking to eat sweets, then perhaps watch a Disney film, go to 'Pirates Den' an indoor play area in Brighton which probably doesn't exist anymore and that I used to love as a kid and who knows what else but ''tidy my room'' and ''do my homework'' certainly wouldn't have been on the list!
ReplyDeleteNo, I am still not in a rush to tidy my room. Perhaps she has some pre-5 fever that mimics the symptoms of insanity....:-)
DeleteI've never done one of these, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be able to cram 33 things into two weeks unless I take a leaf out of Orla's book and just do things like tidying my room. Although actually, I'd imagine it'd take me two weeks to tick just that one off. Also, LOVE your photos.
ReplyDeleteOh go on! Please try and cram 33 adventurous things into two weeks. That would be AMAZING! Just think of what you'd achieve! You'd master calligraphy, cross-stitch, and macrame in the morning, followed by bungy-jumping, rally-car racing, and visiting all the Greek islands in the afternoon. And then you could do more stuff the next day! And thankyou re: the photos!
DeleteCan I not just do the Greek Islands from now until 34? Please?
DeleteOh all right, but only if you take me too.
DeleteI am very impressed with her productivity levels. I'd like to learn how to do that at some point... maybe I'll put that on my 30 before 30 list. I'd say 29 before 29, but I think I'll need the full year and five months to learn the fine of productivity. So please congratulate her on being well ahead of the game!
ReplyDeleteAnd adorable photos, as per usual. :)
I like other people's lists. They are always quite inspiring and interesting. I am always surprised by the number of people in their 30's like me who have still to achieve the seemingly impossible "Keep a plant alive for a year". We got the beads out today - they frustrated her because they were cheap and kept breaking so it was a bit of a let-down. And thankyou on the photos comment. Looking forward to your 30 before 30 now!
DeleteI have '30 things to do before 3.30', commonly known as my to-do list. Sadly, they all involve mundane things like 'remove tick from cat' and 'find library book before the scary librarian comes to the house to look for it herself', but I like to think I'm getting some practice in before I try out for the big leagues..
ReplyDeleteHa, ha! Me too, but I am getting too old I think now to do these lists, there's far too many things, ad I am too tired to do them!
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