2 Sept 2011

Hestia ...and The Zeus 1.0

So, I'm just relaxing with my friends after dinner, small post-prandial glass in my hand (non-alcoholic) and we're being all convivial and I'm thinking 'It's not a bad life,' when the kitchen door bursts open and Sonshine stands in the doorway looking fairly mutinous.

Well, as mutinous as you can with chocolate ice-cream smears on your nose and cheeks.

'What time is it, mum?' he scowled.

'It's nearly half past eight.  We'll be heading back down the road soon - because you've got to cycle because you insisted on coming here on your bike.'

'HALF EIGHT???? What about my space-ship?'

I regarded the flailing arms and thought how much he reminded me of his father sometimes.

'Space ship?'

'YES.  THE ONE THAT I HAVE TO MAKE. FOR SCHOOL. TOMORROW!'

This was news to me.



Yes, he had spent a happy hour the previous evening drawing a complicated space ship with oxygen tanks, rockets, crew quarters etc, but there had been no mention made of actually BUILDING it.

So without further ado, I drained my glass, made my excuses to my bemused hosts and tootled back down the road.

Incidentally, Sonshine actually got home more quickly than me on his bike.  I was driving the mini.  I am not a fast driver and Sonshine was pedalling so hard to beat me that he practically vomited as he skidded to a standstill in the driveway.

As I said.  Reminds me SO much of his father sometimes.

And so it came to pass that I found myself rifling the recycling bags for empty milk cartons (whiffy), juice bottles (well, to be honest - tonic bottles), egg boxes and toilet roll innards.

A big thank you to Nibbles whose cage was raided for further toilet roll innards.

I produced the sellotape and set everything down on the kitchen table.

'There you go,' I said breezily.  'If you need any cutting of plastic or tricky stuff, I'll be in Facebook land.'

Sonshine's gaze followed my retreating form.  Well, I could feel daggers hurtling into my back as I legged it anyway.  This was not my problem.  It was HIS problem.  And he would have to sort it out on his own.

I had just turned the mac on when he appeared at my elbow with scissors and a milk carton to cut.  I did so.  He vanished.

I logged into Facebook.  He materialised again with scissors and a plastic bottle to cut.  I cut it. He vanished.

I typed in a status update.  He materialised again and handed over the scissors.  'Tell you what,' I sighed. 'How about I just abandon this and come into the kitchen.'

The scowl brightened and off we went.

Reader.  I cannot tell you how impressed I was with what he's built.  My sole contribution was doing the sort of cutting that rips your finger tips to shreds and hurts your knuckles.   We ran out of sellotape, but here it is.....

Ladies and Gen'lemen - I give you The Zeus Mark 1.0




Taken with the wrong setting on my camera, but you get the idea.  And sorry about the mess of the house behind him in the photos.  It will be tidy.  One day.....


****update**** came home from school, threw himself down on the stairs and sighed deeply.  Apparently his was the most 'shit' Crew Exploration Vehicle there.  Apart from coughing and spluttering a bit at the 'shit' thing, I did explain that the others didn't leave theirs until half eight the night before it was due to be handed in.

Too early for a gin and tonic?

17 comments:

  1. Sonshine has skills! I give him an A!

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  2. Brilliant spaceship Sonshine! And Ali, I think you handled the whole situation brilliantly too - I would have raged and shouted for about an hour and then made the thing myself and it would be really bad and Boy 1/2 would refuse to take it to school and then I would have raged and shoted..today we have the crisis of the lost iPod - Boy 2's; have looked EVERYWHERE except in the septic tank...better get my wetsuit on now....xx

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  3. That is a brilliant Spaceship! I am mightily impressed!

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  4. Dear Alison, I am very impressed by both the creation and your calmness. But what is it with these school projects which must be done at home? They have dubious educational value and can be seen as simply another way to cause mothers to start banging their heads against walls given as we only learn about them at the 11th hour. Clearly we need to organise, mobilise, and agitate to ban them. I shall start handing out the banners! love Lindaxxx

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  5. Just what I was going to say Linda. My children's previous school was a bugger for sending them home with these "projects", most of which just caused a great deal of wailing and gnashing of teeth (and that was just me). In my day we got sent home with a list of irregular French verbs to learn.

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  6. Ha, my first thought was "How very Blue Peter!" Then I realised just how much that dated me :( "How very Mr. Maker"? Glad you managed it :)

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  7. Inner Whispers - actually, my first attempt at naming this blogpost was Hestia gets all Blue Peter - so I know exactly what you mean!

    Looby - he's not got to the irregular French verbs yet. But that will come. And hopefully the space vehicles will stop.

    Linda - In Scotland we now have The Curriculum for Excellence. Where children are taught how to learn. Homework now mainly consists of a project to be completed over the course of a week. Sadly, Sonshine leaves his until the night before. Which I'm sure defeats the whole point about how he is supposed to be learning to learn. If you know what I mean. Oh, it's just experimental rubbish *sigh*

    Siobhan - I was VERY impressed m'self!

    Blighty - go back and look in the first place you asked them to look. That will be where it is. Boys are particularly blind when it comes to finding things. And don't go into the sceptic tank. That's a Mr Blighty job.

    Viv - quite :-)

    LM - I thought it was pretty bloody impressive too!

    AX

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  8. An excellent model. Sonshine looks so chuffed! And some learning happened - he learnt that despite having run out of time, he would still have to build it himself.

    Bet all the other parents did most of the building - at least Sonshine's was all his own work, bar the tricky cutting bits :)

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  9. Holy moly he is an engineering GENIUS! and handsome, to boot.

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  10. Harridan! - very handsome, even with chocolate ice cream on the end of his nose. In that respect, not reminding me of his father ;-)

    Trashsparkle - apparently someone's model was in METAL. That's taking things just a BIT too far.....

    AX

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  11. God how I hated that regular 9pm 'oh I forgot I have to make model of/go in fancy dress/take something home baked to school'
    My creations were never as good as that!

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  12. "Too early for a gin and tonic? "
    It's never too early for a Gin and Tonic.

    Question:
    Did it fly?
    Did it glow in the dark?
    Did it make cool noises?

    No?
    FAIL.

    At least let him fail on his own. Let him get used to it.

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  13. Apologising to all teachers here - I would probably have continued to socialize and sent Sonshine in with a written excuse why he hadn't completed his homework, then felt guilty all day about it x

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