I really miss being able to text my blog from my phone.

Spring is springing, good luck to it.

One of a kind, oh yeah.

Iris told Hazel and me that at the school talent show tomorrow she's going to sing a song she composed for the occasion: 

One of a kind, one of a kind, 

I think I'd really like to be 

One of a kind, one of a kind, 

I think I'd really love to be 

One of a kind, one of a kind, 

I think it would be nice to be 

One of a kind, one of a kind ...

Hazel said "Oh, Iris! You are one of a kind; the best kind there is!" 

I hope I'll be able to see it, but I was booked two weeks ago for lunch with my parents and visiting aunt and uncle from England so Mary, Orla, and Ewan will be there to cheer her on even if I come over the dutiful daughter and niece rather than the proud mother, and Hazel promised that she would be there too. 

This little pig downloads old books.

Soon the internet will read me to sleep with Wind In The Willows. It's such a dear.

This little pig stays home.

Iris diagnosed with influenza, probably swine flu, this morning, Dr says Hazel probably has it too. This afternoon I went to sleep in the middle of a paragraph I was reading to Hazel, awoke to her telling me I was hot and when she took my temperature it was 38.5 (102ish). I'm such a joining-in kind of person.

Illiterate bookworms

Hazel and Iris have had fevers this week. Iris has watched movies (of books mostly; Winnie the Pooh, Narnia and Beatrix Potter come to mind). Hazel has been listening to books online, perhaps because she enjoyed some parts of The Stars are Comforting on the Concert Programme on the way home from Ultimate last week.

Hazel has listened to all the stories on the Radio New Zealand site that we could find (a bit difficult since the actual link to the Storytime Treasure Chest is broken at the moment). She watched and listened to all the Screen Actors' Guild people reading books at Storyline Online, it was felt that Sean Astin did as good a job as I do of A Bad Case Of Stripes, and that I could learn from his use of props. She has been listening to Storynory stories since, and creating her own illustrations (perhaps she's feeling a bit better, though she's certainly feeling a bit hotter).

I've also found http://www.kiddierecords.com/ and http://www.free-books.org/children.php and a whole lot more promising things appear with Googling for things like "free audiobooks children online".

Me, I like listening to The Wind in the Willows when I'm ill, and I still have my records of it, but I haven't yet got the USB turntable so that I can take it with me on my phone to listen to when waiting for things. However, it occurs to me that I could turn the recorder on my phone on when I'm reading to the kids and I'd get audiobooks of all their favourites: audience participation and all!

Got a new phone, haven't worked out how to text here from it yet. Had a nice time in Thailand.

It's all very well in theory, but not being very good at talking or going to the toilet is a humbling experience. The holiday in Thailand was great.