Tora - August 2026

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The Tora 1 Household Profile

The Tora Family

Annie is 35, Erik is 33, Owen is 7, Claire is 4 and Celia is 3

(Debby Gradonni is 58, Catherine Penninkemijer is 36, Abby Gradonni is 35, Sya Gerrits is 34 and Brian Gradonni is 7)

Narrated by Annie

The kids are on summer break at the moment, and Erik and I have been lucky enough to have been able to work from home for most of it.

The kids mostly entertain themselfes, which makes working pretty easy.

But we did make time to play with them as well. I sometimes think about quitting my job, and become a stay at home mom, I've always loved the fac that mom was always there, and still is.

I know Erik isn't against the idea, in fact he would love for me to be able to do that as well, but financially it's just not possible at the moment.

We still have a huge morgage to pay, and we just can't miss my pay at the moment, especially if we want to send all 3 of our children to college one day.

So instead of being a stay-at-home mom, I'm trying to make the most of working at home, and I love the afternoons when we all come together in the study, the kids to color, and Erik and I to work some more.

It hasn't all been work this summer. Living across the street from the beach makes it pretty easy to pick up the kids for an afternoon of relaxing.

When I keep an eye on Celia, Erik takes Owen and Claire to the water and watches of them when they have a great time.

It's unbelievable that they all are getting so big. Owen really wanted to go sunbathing and made kind of a show putting on his suncream, which was really sweet to watch.

And when Claire had enough of swimming in the ocean, she went to sit with Erik for a father-dauhter-moment, instead of playing in the sand.

Erik also took Owen camping. They went to Lake Bear, where they have a nice playground, and a swimmable lake. He thought about taking Claire with him as well, but we eventually decided that she still is a little bit yougn for this kind of trips.

It was kind of a little bit back-to-basics there, but Erik came prepared, so he could prepare a nice meal for him and Owen.

Other campers joined them with their meals, and so it wasn't just the 2 of them, which really wasn't what Erik had planned.

Owen was really keen on swimming in the lake, and Erik let him, I don't know if I would have if I was there with them, but Owen loved it!

They did it all; the whole camping-experience, when it got chillier at night, they light up a campfire and even roasted some marshmallows.

I know Owen went to bed way too late, but I also know he had an amazing time at the campground, and he's already asking Erik to go again next year.

The next day, over dinner, we all got detailed stories from the trip. And thanks to that, Claire now is begging to go along with them next year.

The days Erik and I have to go to the office, we can always count on mom to to look after the kids.

All 3 of them love it when their grandma is over. I don't know how she does it, but she makes time for every one of them.

On top of that all, she finds the time to do some cleaning.

And bake a cake, so the kids have snack when they feel hungry.

We can always count on her when we want to have a night to ourselfs as well. She comes over, spends time with the kids, reads them a bedtime-story.

And makes sure the kids are in bed in time.

We don't have much of those nights, and when we do have them, they are not that special, but they are nights for just the 2 of them.

A simple meal, is more than enough, as long as I don't have to cook it, I'm happy.

And even though I'm not good at bowling at all, I can enjoy it just as much as anything else.

Erik is very competitive, and he takes all of these things very serious.

But in the end it's just a night for us, and we've both enjoyed it.

Sometimes I take Claire and Owen to my parent's farm, where they can play with Brain. Owen and Brain are the same age, and they don't like playing with Claire that much.

They do however tollerate her when they are playing in the tower.

When they start a game of cops and robbers however, they don't allow her to play along.

I know it saddens Claire, and I try to make sure Owen plays with his sister as well, but we can't force them to play with her all the time.

I don't go to the farm just for the kids. It's still one of my favourite places on earth! And when I'm there, I try to make the most of it.

Sitting down and having an adult conversation, with my mom and my sister is a huge part of making the most of it.

I don't see Abby enough, not do I see my friends enough. But we try to make time to meet occasionally.

We all have parterns who don't mind looking after the kids when we want to go out, just the 4 of us.

Last time we went to the karaoke-bar. Something Abby and Catherine really enyoed al lot. They kept singing one song ather anohter.

Sya and I never got a chance, which neither of us really minded since we don't like to sing anyway. So we just watched and listened Catherine and Abby, while we chated.

I always like those nights out, and I'm sure that it will be easier in the future to meet up, after all our kids are getting older, and won't be needing us as much.

Notes:

• I really want Annie to be a stay at home mom, but it's just not happening for her at the moment. They had to take out a loan to buy this house, and they still need to pay quite a lot of it, especially since I used quite a lot of their savings to redecorate the house, and I really do want their kids to have to option to go to college.They do get some money from her parents sometimes, whihch helps them quite a lot, so I have hopes Annie can eventually stay at home.
• I really like this little family, and I wouldn't mind them having another, but at the moment their family feels right, so they are on birth control. I'm sure they might roll the want for another one, and I might give in when they do roll it, because I just love their kids! Annie's IFS is 6 and Eric's is 5.