Recently in Evelyn Category

A little worried that Evelyn's 'holiday belly' may have returned after the Christmas break, Jilly and I are trying to convince her that she needs to be a bit more careful about the number of sweets she eats.

Reminding ourselves that she's only 6-years-old, Jilly and I realise that we're going to have to give Evie a little help...er...by removing all the sweets in the house in the new year.

As Jilly was at work this morning, Evie and I enjoyed boiled eggs and soldiers for breakfast. Mid-way through her breakfast, Evie looked up from her egg to ask me if eggs had a lot of fat in them. I told her that there was fat in boiled eggs, but that most of it was in the yolk. Poking around her egg, looking for the last of the golden yolkie goodness, Evelyn told me;

"That's why they don't put a lot in, isn't it!"

Jilly and I attended Evelyn's school Nativity tonight...'C-H-R-I-S-T-M-A-S spells Christmas', a(nother) retelling of the Nativity this time incorporating time-travelling news reporters visiting the town of Bethlehem on the big night.

It was the turn of the years two and three children this year, and Evelyn had a singing and dancing role as one of the 'heavenly news' team. Again, like last year, our sight of Evelyn wasn't great for the majority of the show, but improved as she joined the rest of the crew as they delivered their news through the medium of song and dance (though...er...obviously, Evelyn's performance stood out from the rest! I would say that, though, wouldn't I?)

The photographs are a little 'blurdie' (as Evelyn was very quick to point out) but - in my defence - the lights were dimmed and the camera is hardly cut out for taking indoor shots at a distance!

Evelyn wrote me a note today.

Remembering how a mum says goodbye to her daughter (one of Evelyn's friends) at Evelyn's school ("I love you more than Chocolate"), I wrote the following note back to Evelyn.

Not to be outdone, Evelyn took the note from me and turning it over, started writing on the reverse. She passed me the following absolutely delightful note.

Of course, Evelyn really loves pigs: they are 'her favourite and her best'.

As the temperature in our office at work has become intolerably low, I decided it was about time I searched out one or two old white t-shirts I owned so that I might wear them beneath my shirts at work (I am almost forty-two after-all!).

After some searching, I couldn't find either of the t-shirts I thought I owned (as Jilly constantly reminds me, I throw nothing away) and I was become more vocal in my frustration.

Hoping she could help end my search, Evelyn had an excellent suggestion.

"Perhaps you grew out of them Daddy, and Mummy gave them to one of your friends?". Jilly cried with laughter when I told her.

I've bought some more t-shirts!

In an attempt to keep Evelyn and Dominic out of trouble today (and to reduce the chances of her being forced to throttle either - or both - of them) Jilly took them to Eureka. Apparently, there's a new area in the museum where children are invited to use the types of adaptions that children with special needs use everyday; walking sticks, crutches, that sort of thing. Seeing all the equipment, Evelyn immediately made her way to the walking sticks which she began using with great dexterity.

Watching her from the side-lines, Dominic quickly brought Evelyn back down to Earth.

"Of course, he told her, "the glamour would soon wear off if you had to use those all the time, Evelyn."

Evelyn simply raised her eyes to the ceiling, and carried on.

Would you credit it, eh? It's the school half-term holidays next week, but Evelyn's school is closed today; so Evelyn and I have had the day together; 'every cloud' etc., etc., etc.

Performing domestic duties (murgghhh!), I've not been able to spend a great deal of time with Evelyn, and the weather hasn't been great anyway (starting, as it did, with a morning of rain) so we certainly haven't been able to go out.

What we have done, though, is make tea for tonight!

Being a little dull, I made the pizza base first [of course, that was supposed to mean that making the base was dull, not me, but you read into it what you want!], then Evelyn helped me prepare and add the toppings. Brilliant!

Just act naturally, Daddy

Jilly, Evelyn and I discussed my taking Evelyn to the Sports Centre lastnight (I think Jilly was simply, and tactfully, trying to remind me of my responsibilities). Jilly also reminded me that I had to behave myself, and not spend the lesson staring at the coaches.

"Just act naturally, Daddy!", Evelyn snapped at me. "And no doing this!", she said, looking at me over the top of her glasses while raising her eyebrows.

Nu...nu...nu...nu...nu...nineteen!

"I might be NINETEEN!"

Move over Nick Robinson

"Who is this David man? Is he in charge of the country now?, Evelyn asked Jilly. "Where has that Gordon gone?" Astonishing! At six, I was barely conscious who was in charge of my house, let alone the country!

Recently, Jilly's been routing around in the loft looking for old photographs and has rediscovered my first year school photograph from high school (circa 1980). Not surprisingly, having found the photograph, Jilly left it in the loft!

I thought it would be interesting to show the photo to Evelyn and see if she'd be able to recognise her old dad as a young boy. I showed her the photo asking her if she thought it looked like the picture of a nice boy.

"He looks very friendly," she told me. She realised, immediately, that the picture was of me. "Is it you, Daddy?"

I confessed that it was a picture of me taken when I was 11 (Year Six, I told her!), and that it was lovely that she thought I looked friendly, as I wasn't very popular with girls as an eleven year old.

"I would have been your friend! she told me.

I relayed this story to Jilly sometime later today and, rather insensitively, Jilly reminded me that Evelyn has been without her spectacles for most of the weekend! Harrumph!

So...Jilly received a text message today which included a joke which isn't exactly politically correct but very funny, never-the-less.

Jilly read the joke from her phone as Evelyn and I listened, and we both found it very funny; me because I understood and enjoyed the racially stereotypical gag (ironically, I hope), and Evelyn because she liked the punchline and the way Jilly delivered it; "SUPPLIES!"

So, Mr Wong attends a company for a job interview. After a lengthy interview process, Mr Wong is told that he's been successful, and is offered the job in charge of Supplies.

On his first day at work, Mr Wong disappears and nobody can find him. HR get involved in the search for him and, by the end of the day, he's still not been found.

As the last person is about to lock up the office and leave, Mr Wong leaps out from behind a big box and shouts "SUPPLIES!". Evelyn has been shouting SUPPLIES! ever since (and that's the reason I've told the joke in the blog!). It's the joke that just keeps giving!

As we were putting Evelyn to bed last night, she asked Jilly and I whether or not we were going to be attending the schools Harvest Festival assembly this morning (while we'd received a letter from the school informing us that the assembly was taking place, the letter didn't say that parents were invited)...er...so Jilly and I didn't arrange a late start at work. Evelyn crumbled, and began crying inconsolably. Evelyn surprised both of us by how upset she became and it was obvious that one of us was going to have to attend...er...so I organised a later start at work.

The school assembly hall was absolutely packed once the parents and children were all sat down. A guest Methodist preacher gave a very interesting 'presentation' (though I couldn't see any of the projected images from where I was sat), and the children sang beautifully (I was filling up as I watched Evelyn belting the tunes out)!

Later this evening, Jilly, Evelyn and I went to the school again to attend the Craft Fair. Evelyn was desperate to spend every penny of the money Jilly gave her to spend, and Jilly was ecstatic when she won a bottle of rose for a 50p stake on a tombola stall.