Sometimes it's just like this, eh......

You get dinner all planned - roast veggies and cous cous, with a bit of Harissa for the grown ups. Then realise you just can't face eating it...... :( Thom and I seem to've been passing bugs back and forth between us since Christmas - and everyone else has a horrid cough. Eve's also a little bit deaf at the moment so we have to keep repeating ourselves - what a bunch we are, eh.....

Another nicer way in which things don't go according to plan.........






The beautiful treasure basket I put together and created things for gets about 3 minutes of attention......and is abandoned, as he goes off in search of a bigger challenge...........the kitchen cupboard......and then starts climbing mummy's legs when he realises he's been spotted.......little monkey boy, x

Making

I am working on a birthday present for a lovely, lovely friend, using this rather fab yarn which was another bargain from my local shop - it's rather frivolous as it has sparkly bits..... I thought it might be hard to knit as it is made from several strands loosely bound together, but it's surprisingly easy. I got a new pair of 8mm bamboo needles especially for it - I can't bear metal pins now. What does everyone else use? Am I a knitting snob? I popped in to the local market on Wednesday and the ladies on the knitting stall were all using metal pins and acrylic yarn, neither of which I enjoy knitting with.
Anyway... the top is one that Eve's grown out of so will be used as part of the project too. Hope it turns out half as well as it looks in my imagination......

The best bit of my day......

.....was about 4.30 this afternoon. It hasn't been a bad day, just a hectic one, with various things in it that've made me feel more and more contented that we are making the right choice (for us, at the moment) in moving to Nepal.

Harv arrived home with the boys at the same time as Eve and I arrived from Lisa's. Then ensued the usual getting-home-frenzy: unloading the cars of nappy buckets, laptops, school bags, nursery bags, lunchboxes; having to put them out of Thom's reach to avoid mild disasters; feeding the older two who're both shouting to be heard to tell us about their day; trying to get changed out of work clothes; sorting out a bit of laundry; cooking dinner..............blah, blah, blah.
Thom just wanted to cuddle his mummy and the four whirlwinds rushing around him clearly really upset him. He started to cry VERY loudly in protest within 2 minutes of getting into the house.

So I abandoned the whole lot of it, and took him out side to watch and listen to the starlings who were doing their amazing dusk dances between various huge oak trees around our house. We were both entranced. The sky was pink and the air around us was warm and still. We watched their incredible formations and listened to the chatter when a group landed and the wingbeats as they took flight again - it really was the very best ten minutes of the day and we both felt SO much better when we went back inside to join everyone else.

Eve's First Day at School

Here in Shropshire there is a dual intake system, so children born from January don't begin Reception until after Christmas. I don't know of anywhere else in the country that still does this. So - Eve was very excited about starting. She wanted to see her friends again, as she knows all the children already in Reception aka Acorn Class, as well as those starting with her, from pre-school which she's been attending for a whole year now. She was also DESPERATE to wear her uniform. Most of the children wore uniform to pre-school but I always encouraged Eve to wear her normal (& lovely as opposed to dull!) clothes. 'Why don't I wear a uniform, Mummy?' she asked once. 'Well, you'll probably be wearing a school uniform almost every day for the next 11 years,' I said. She thought this was hilarious. 'You'll probably get fed up of it,' I continued, 'so you might as well enjoy wearing your own lovely, bright clothes for a bit longer.....' She assured me that she would NEVER get fed up of her uniform. Hmmmmm..... We'll see about that when she's 14, eh.....
Anyway, here she is, almost ready to go - just add woollies, wellies and a coat. Miss assured me that she had had a good day when I arrived at hometime. They all went out to play in the snow for the last 20 minutes, so she was pretty cold and subdued when I collected her as the snow had gone over into her wellies and the poor mite had wet, very cold feet. A big cuddle, woolly slippers, a digestive biscuit and an apple soon sorted her out. 'A bit disappointing,' was how she described it... :( Hoping for more bounciness tomorrow.....

Snowy Christmas Photos

Mummy I lub you....

....is what Noah-boots said to me for the first time the other day. Whilst giving very me a very wriggly, squirmy cuddle. Cue mummy's damp eyes and wobbly bottom lip....

It's been a bit of a crazy Christmas break - it's not easy having such energetic children inside most of the day. And even when really wrapped up they just don't want to stay outside for that long.
I'll post some lovely photos tomorrow - I just wanted to make a start of thinking over the last couple of weeks.

Thom and I spent Christmas Eve night on Children's Ward via A&E after he sneaked off up the stairs when I (bad mother) accidentally left the stair gate open for approximately 3 minutes. He fell all the way back down, bloodied his nose and bashed a BIG bump onto his head. An hour or so later I started panicing that his pupils were different sizes - so called newdoc.....who advised A&E.....which mercifully wasn't too busy..... I was reassured when the doctor told me she was happy that he was ok but there was a general concensus that we should stay in for observation.
So Thom and I spent his first Christmas Eve night on Rainbow ward. I was pretty upset to miss Eve and Noah and their early morning excitement, but there were also lots of things to be grateful for - Thom was fine; Father Christmas still found him and left a little Teddy for him! (So kind and thoughtful!); the paediatrician didn't wait for rounds but came and discharged us extra early at 7.15 so we were home for 8am. Whoop!!