First days.
Apr. 20th, 2010 09:12 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
franceslievensTwo days in I am positive that taking my parental leave and joining P. in Oxford was the best decision for the moment. Yes, the apartment is tiny, and yes, Oxford isn't the big bustling city Brussels is, but more a tiny pretentious university town that's in fact the middle of nowhere. The peace and quiet of this place make up for all the stressy situations I've landed in since September. And the weather is nice – for once.
Today I took LB to her very first Monkey Music lesson. We were pretty convinced she'd love it. She was in fact the only kid that couldn't sit still on Mama's lap and escaped all the time to go and play with the teacher, because she had this nice big Monkey and musical instruments. The other kids liked it too, but were much more reserved. LB just rocks out on the music. She does that at home as well, when I put her CDs on: going all jiggely wiggely with every part of her body, bending her knees perfectly in time with the rhythm of the songs. With the other kids around, she doesn't hold back. She's used to her friends (and foes) at daycare, where there's also singing and dancing, but without mothers and fathers to keep an eye on the youngsters. Being around kids will do her good, and make the transition to going full-time to daycare again in August easier.
The glorious weather is also very nice biking weather. Oxford is much more bicycle friendly than Brussels, and taking the bike will save you lots of money on public transport fares. On top of that LB loves riding along in her seat, especially when she can fumble with Mama's jacket or Papa's trousers. My new bike finally gets used for all the good reasons I bought it. I'm sort of loving the housewifely life.
Today I took LB to her very first Monkey Music lesson. We were pretty convinced she'd love it. She was in fact the only kid that couldn't sit still on Mama's lap and escaped all the time to go and play with the teacher, because she had this nice big Monkey and musical instruments. The other kids liked it too, but were much more reserved. LB just rocks out on the music. She does that at home as well, when I put her CDs on: going all jiggely wiggely with every part of her body, bending her knees perfectly in time with the rhythm of the songs. With the other kids around, she doesn't hold back. She's used to her friends (and foes) at daycare, where there's also singing and dancing, but without mothers and fathers to keep an eye on the youngsters. Being around kids will do her good, and make the transition to going full-time to daycare again in August easier.
The glorious weather is also very nice biking weather. Oxford is much more bicycle friendly than Brussels, and taking the bike will save you lots of money on public transport fares. On top of that LB loves riding along in her seat, especially when she can fumble with Mama's jacket or Papa's trousers. My new bike finally gets used for all the good reasons I bought it. I'm sort of loving the housewifely life.
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no subject
Date: 2010-04-21 06:12 pm (UTC)Yay for that great feeling of knowing a decision was the right one.
You must be so glad to be all together in one place now. Working full-time and being a mum is stressful enough, but doing that all own your own? You deserve a break!
Kingston loves music as well - when his daddy plays the guitar, he does percussion with his various rattles and he likes tugging at the strings, too. And I want to buy a new bike, too. Walking to school is boring and means too much carrying and taking the car makes my environmental conscience scream obscenities at me...
no subject
Date: 2010-04-21 06:45 pm (UTC)They're quite expensive, but very good bikes with everything on it. For school you'd need extra bags though. I can't do that at the moment, because of LB being in a seat. I've got a smaller bag at the front of the bike: http://www.tintamar.com/index.php?id_page=141&id_site=2 It's a great little bag, but sometimes just not big enough to haul everything I want to transport and because of its round shape it's filled pretty quickly. Transporting your kid on a bike and going to the shops makes you realise how little room there is...
no subject
Date: 2010-04-22 05:01 pm (UTC)Ooh, that bag looks great! A good alternative to lugging around my handbag on my back.
I bought a bike today - very similar to this (http://www.steppenwolf-bikes.com/trekkingbikes/transterra-lady/), but in white. A friend has offered us a seat for Kingston, but we're also thinking about a trailer.
no subject
Date: 2010-04-22 08:24 pm (UTC)I'd love to ride around with LB in a trailer, but Brussels traffic is such a mess. Most drivers don't pay much attention to cyclists. Because trailers are rather low, I bet they don't even see them. We don't dare to take that risk! If we lived full time in Oxford though...