Hello all,
Just back from London. Stayed two more days than planned. DP finishes job at the end of this month, with great payoff but....we were moved up here as part of the job with certain living expenses covered, so from next month onwards we now have to cover two mortgages.....which may mean renting out our London place. So we spent most of the week tarting up the house....I took on the garden - which when we arrived looked like a slice of Amazonian jungle and now looks like something from Desperate Housewives, and DP is repainting the entire house and fixing the shower etc. We probably have to go back in two weeks to clear out a lot of stuff. Then if DP gets offered lots of project work, we will not rent out, but if he gets work up here, or work is lean, we will put it straight on the market.
I feel great though. I do love getting outside and love physical exercise, so was feeling very 'zen' on the drive back up...and believe me...I am been far from zen for quite some time!!!!! Kids are not good for allowing you to feel 'at peace with the world'. By the time we had arrived back, DD was inundating me with questions, had fallen over three times, bit her lip, hit her back and was wailing. F was refusing his milk, I got kicked, slammed, whatever, and was running for the hills!!!!
I did take one day out in London and took the kids to the London Zoo. It was almost 2 hours to get there, train + 2 tubes + 20min walk from Baker Street - I should have driven. So we were a little knackered. It was a stunning day though and had a good look around. DD (aka Mme Cousteau) is crazy about Octonauts and at 5 was pointing out the Hermit Crabs, Clown Fish and anemone etc. We liked the Dancing Shrimp and she was quite taken with the Sting Ray. She liked the zebras and the gorillas. I struggle with the larger primates being in zoos as they look so unhappy I wish they were free. But F really didn't pay much attention to any of it, and slept through 2 hours of it. He was more into the bouncy castle and orange juice cartons etc.
Last night he came down ill, with a temperature of almost 40oC and shaking in the night. I had no Calpol or Nurofen in the house (and anyway had sworn to try and avoid it) so brought his temp down to normal three times just by stripping him off and putting a damp cloth on his forehead etc. I was surprised how well it worked. But he wasn't well today and when we got in the car to come north, I did buy some Nurofen in case he got too miserable and did end up giving him some. In in the middle of the night I did angst that he had picked up something foreign and nasty on the ground at the zoo, as how do you stop an almost 2 yr old from touching the ground?
Anyway, we had to stop at 'motorway services' for supper and F got his first ever BK Happy Meal with free toy and fries, which he loved. DD didn't know what an ice cream sundae was.....does that make me a saint or make my children entirely devoid of joy!! Who knows...quite accidental actually.
Another bl__dy novel...oops.
gaucita - Yah! Fabbo! Me too = girl then boy. The nice thing is an older sister tends to look after their little brother. It's the caring nature. DD still calls F 'her baby' to strangers. I really like it. Boys like being looked after. Go off and fight the battle, bring home the beast, and then nice cup of hot milk and long cuddle and lots of loving please mamma. Nappy changing is complicated by additional parts. The third nappy I changed at home, I lifted his legs up and he started peeing, it went high up and then landed on his face!! 'Hopeless mother' emoticon. I hope and pray your massage was a good one. I've bought three things from Groupon and always had good experiences so hope yours was too. Agree, we gave up on hotel rooms a long time ago. When are they going to get with the times and put a tiny separate soundproofed room in the corner with a window for fresh air? Wouldn't that make it easier for a start?
june - I know people who have loved their nursery but then changed room and it's just not been the same. F is going up in 2 weeks, and he is totally in love with the 2 girls/women who run downstairs, but entirely indifferent to the women upstairs. We shall see. For us self catering definitely the way to go. Eat out at lunchtime (tapas, cafe, beach, whatever) and then in the evening, put kids to bed, go out on deck and have a lazy supper over a bottle of wine. Also, take your own carseat. There are some quite good travel ones now. What country are you thinking of going to? I'm a boarding school girl as well, went at 12. I immersed myself in sport too and was quite good - winning various things. But I wasn't crazy about it, and on hindsight not particularly happy years due to some family crises. It was nice that you went home on weekends, I got home only at half term and end of term but had a couple of lovely aunts nearby so went out on Sunday and got close to them - I have a 'part time' mother but am incredibly lucky with my various interested and loving aunts! Don't you find that once you have children, you really look long and hard at your educational experiences to establish what the most important ingredients were?
snow honey, how do you cope? You are a super women. I have been putting off a trip to nz for a year now, but then F has been a complete _ when it comes to sleep and has only just improved, so I really couldn't face it. Are you off to sydney? I can't remember are you both from oz or is it your dh who is australian?
ninja - still so happy for you. Do you go to bed at night and still find yourself grinning in the dark?
Yes, another novel!