Mop-day #1

Monday will henceforth be Mop-day in the England family household. Today was a busy day for me… and I didn't even leave the house. I think my former roommates of the Batcave and 40Cook would be utterly and completely flabbergasted at the amount of cleaning I did today. They would be stunned to find that I didn't overly hate it, either. (Although this has been my first Mop-day of many to come.) I swept, dusted, mopped and cleaned the stovetop, the microwave, both ovens and even did 2 loads of laundry and a pile of ironing. And then, at the end of it all, I had to deal with a three-year-old who wouldn't eat his tea (dinner). I'm sure all the mothers in the audience (probably only my own) are rolling their eyes saying 'see what I had to put up with for 20+ years?!' So, I would like to offer an apology now: Mom, I love you and I'm sorry for making your day even harder when I came home from school and cried about my math homework. That's not to say I don't love my job. I knew it would be a huge learning experience and I'm glad that I am actually learning!

Anyways… Oldest is preparing for this exam that all 'year 6' (grade 5?) students take called '11+'. I'm not really crystal clear on it's actual purpose, but it affects Oldest in that if she gets top grades, she will be able to go to any private highschool of her choice. From what I know about oldest, she's pretty smart and studious and wont have any problems. She is being tutored for the exam and I took a look at her tutoring homework today. It is a lot of problem solving and riddle-type stuff. For me (a 22-year-old university grad) most of it is a piece of cake, but there were a few questions (math-related) that I had trouble with. My 10-year old self would not have found these questions that easy. Are all British kids expected to be this clever?!

The best icecream of life, besides Moosetracks during a peanut-butter-less summer, is Wall's Cream of Cornish. Mmmmmmm. Try it if you can find it at home, it's something I can't bring home on the plane.

I am reading 'The Colour of Magic' by Terry Pratchett. It is the first book in the 'Discworld' series and so far, it's pretty good! If you like fantasy (I'm talking to you, GLC friends… although this series is probably old news to you), then pick it up! If you like British humour, pick it up!

Well, I'd better get to bed… I have a bunch more ironing and some vacuuming to do tomorrow before they hire the cleaner back.

Hasta Mañana, mis amigos!