Category Archives: Freya

The Fight Begins. Again.

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Sigh. Despite moving Zelda to Freya’s school, the food they have been given the last two days is of an unacceptable standard. Zelda is being inschooled, giving both Jo and I the opportunity to be with her for a few days. Including eating lunch and snack.

The school has a food policy of using organic ingredients, cooked in an on-site kitchen. The problem at the moment seems to be that the old chef has gone, and the new cook does not seem to have the knowledge (or maybe desire) to make interesting, tasty vegan food. This has lead to Yesterday’s lunch being Quorn (NOT vegan) and today’s being a tasteless chick pea, raw parsnip and undercooked courgette mess. Whilst the other children received a fruit smoothie at snack time, Freya and Zelda have been given a bit of banana. Fucking great.

We are on the case already, and shall instigate a short term and long term plan of action to better the food situation for our daughters. I did not give up at Zelda’s last school, the dividends of over a year’s discussions and meetings being an introduction of a daily bean salad and regular soya products at lunch. If the chef thinks he can get away with serving sub standard food then he shall soon realise his mistake.

Current TV Viewing

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Freya has got a new favourite cartoon character: Scooby Doo. As far as I know there is no Scooby Doo revival at her school, so I assume she likes it because…well, she likes it. Whilst it is not in the same league as the wonderful choice of (peaceful) children’s programs offered on Bolibompa, it is a far cry from the irritating cartoons shown on Cartoon Network, which constantly blare out explosions, discordant music and high pitched screaming.

With Freya’s earlier favourite programs (Teletubbies, Dora The Explorer and Charlie and Lola) she has at least one piece of related merchandise; however, we have nothing of Scooby Doo and the gang at home, and neither has Freya asked. Perhaps it has something to do with the lack of merchandise available. Or simply that we have not bought anything for her :)

Hello Kitty, although not having her roots in TV or comics, is everwhere at the time of writing, with a myriad items available for purchase. Every other girl at nursery school has some piece of HK apperaI and the big clothes shops seem to stock a never ending flow. For the boys, Spiderman is the height of fashion – No gender bias there, then.

How retro-cool, then, it would be for Freya to start wearing a Scooby Doo t-shirt to school. I think I might try and track one down for Christmas, if her interest has not waned.

Freya’s Wishlist

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Freya has been quite excited about her upcoming birthday, and had long ago written a wishlist. Items include:

  • stick insect
  • laptop
  • perler beads
  • make up
  • books
  • scooter
  • Zhu Zhu Pets playset(s)
  • Littlest Pet Shop stuff
  • ice cream machine
  • sweet machine
  • Pokemon
  • Moxie Girl
  • Hello Kitty bag
  • Sim card for her phone

Most of the above items are the kind of thing that any child over the last twenty years might wish for, but I’m not sure how many would desire a stick insect. In all fairness, she has been asking for a pet for a year now, and at least a stick insect will not last for an eternity. Jo will probably not be allergic to it, either.

We have bought her a laptop. Thankfully we got hold of a pretty snazzy second hand computer, refurbished and, by the look of it, new. It didn’t cost so much (hoorah!) and is actually a fair bit more powerful than the computer that Jo and I have. She will love it. So will we, when she goes to bed.

We Are Sailing (Well, One Of Us)

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Freya, now six, has just returned from her first real adventure without the family: an overnight cruise to Åland.

Freya had been asked by a work colleague of mine, Mintra, if she would like to join them (including her nine year old daughter, Nathalie) only a few days ago. At first she was reluctanat, not wishing to be away from us. By the end of the evening she had made up her mind to tag along. And we are so glad that she did.

Of course, the crossing was a fantastic experience for Freya, who could recount a multitude of memories and was even thoughtful enough to buy us all presents. Knowing her father only too well, she bought me a bottle of red wine.

I wish I could have been there to have seen her in her new role; at the same time it’s important for her to own her own experiences. We love you, Freya, and hats off to you for having the courage to do it.

Freya And Her Tooth

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After a short period of wobbling, Freya’s first loose tooth came out today, to her joy. And then, later, dismay.

She had been quite excited at the prospect of losing it. Many of her friends have already discarded one or more ivories, which has left Freya disappointed at her tooth-full mouth. But this afternoon she could not be happier to show me the lack of a lower central incisor (the internet is a wonderful thing for the ignorant).

Then, when she got home, she was sad and scared by the look of the tooth. I suppose it is a strange thing for her to see something that has been inside her mouth for the last five years. Her sadness soon allayed and she started to talk excitedly about the Tooth Fairy. Or more precisely, tooth fairy logistics.

Like Santa Claus, the Tooth Fairy does throw up some interesting questions and conundrums. But Freya has worked out that she is a very small creature that can easily make her way under doors (and, presumeably, key holes and their kin). With the aid of her magic wand she can then transform into a larger being to take the tooth. I did not ask too many questions that would have upset the logic of her idea, though they were not far from being uttered.

We discussed where the Tooth Fairy got all her money from to pay for the huge number of lost teeth that we humans discard (no real answer), or what she did with all the teeth (they could be currency in her world, speculates Freya, which makes me wonder why she has not ever considered retiring – she must be loaded).

Part of me does not like lying to Freya, even about the Tooth Fairy. Which sounds odd considering a fair amount of my life has been given over to fantasy role playing games. But it did not stop me from creeping into her room a short time after she had fallen asleep to remunerate her for slipping her tooth under her pillow.