Oh I'm so fed up with being headachy. I really feared it was going to tip over into a migraine today - I was half way thru helping Em dress this morning when I came over nauseous, and had to warn her I might have to go quickly to the toilet room. She proceeded to tell me all about when she was last sick, which is so long ago I can't remember it - was I even pregnant then?

Em's Preschool had a 10th birthday party today, and got in a Clown Magician. Emma adored him, and aparently was there with her hand way up whenever he was after a volunteer. She got to hold 4 spinning plates at one point. She also got a balloon on the shape of a sword - said she'd had a sword fight with one of the boys. Had to smile - I'd only been reading Nell's article on weapons last night!

Then we went to buy fish & chips, but I realised I didnt have my purse so we went all the way home for it.

I think both girls are teething at once - Em with two more back molars (that will be teeth nos. 24 & 25) and Soph with her first.

I did a food swap today with a friend - she texted me to ask if I wanted 8 pints of semi. I said I could freeze them - why? Next thing her 12 year old is on the doorstep with them, saying her brother, who usually drinks gallons of milk (teenager) has gastro and is on dry toast and water. So I sent her back with some pitta breads I over ordered - seemed like a fair swap!

Em went out to Friday Night Club tonight - I took her and the aforementioned friend brought her home to save me disturbing Soph. She played games, got an easter egg, did colouring and ate a hot cross bun ("currant bun" she called it) and orange juice. I got a text from the friends husband when Em should have arrived saying "forgot Em, just going back for her!" Felt bad for putting him out.... until the friend, all her healthy kids and Em appeared on the doorstep 5 mins later - he was just kidding! I'll have to get him for that!!

Alan finally got in at 7.15pm - and has to go back on Monday for one last try to fix the thing. He's promised me it wont be an overnighter.

Well, the girls slept ok but I had a tiredness headache which (LOL) kept waking me up during the night. I even chose to feed Sophie sitting up from 5.30am coz it was more comfortable for my head. And then ping her eyes were wide open at 7.25 - you're supposed to sleep for another hour, baby! We just gazed into each others eyes for 5 dazed minutes - v cute - and then we went to wake Emma and start the battle to dress her, cream her eczema, get her teeth clean, get her inhaler taken, get her hair brushed, get her to eat breakfast, etc etc!

I was just feeding the fish after breakfast, prior to going and getting my own clothes on and tangles dragged out when there was a crash from behind me - Emma had been drinking milk thru her "curley" straw and hadnt been holding the plastic mug. The milk was actually supposed to be round her Cheerios but she'd been eating them dry and had poured herself the milk to drink, then floated some of the Cheerios on top. Anyway, all this had gone on the floor under the table. I had just 10 mins to get dressed and now I was going to have to mop this all up - aaargh!

I grabbed the mop and told Emma to start soaking up the milk with it dry, not to push it about the floor.... and I went and filled the bucket. I then left her happily mopping the floor, thinking "haha problem solved!" I came back down vaguely dressed (or just dressed & vague) to find Emma barefoot with the mop and saying "look mummy, a paddling pool"! She'd used the mop to make the floor very wet and was splashing in the puddle. Thank goodness for lino floors! There was no time to do anything except tell her it was not how I expected her to do the job, next time it would be naughty (she knows how to weild a mop - did it while I was asleep and 8 months pregnant without telling me) and came back from the Preschool run to finish it off properly. Oh well, if I wasnt so tired it would be funny. Sent Al a text about it, he said it made him laugh!

Dont the weeks just drag by when you're poorly?

Today Emma has been getting more coldy (green snot - yuk!) as well as complaining one of her molars is really "ouchy", cutting through at the back, and she's been scratching her eczema loads but resisting all attempts to cream her as if her life depended on it.

Sophie fed 4x in 4 hours yesterday evening - I was utterly frazzled. It was the one evening so far when it would have been easier feeding her downstairs than upstairs by her cot. I got next to nothing done, and even had to go upstairs in the middle of a call on my mobile to Alan to do a feed and come downstairs still chatting when she was asleep again. Tonight's not been so bad so far, just one feed, but once again mid-call!

I got very grumpy with Emma at bedtime and even found myself yelling in her face, which I had to appologise for. She for her part was winding me up the whole time and even slipped into the conversation the jaw dropping statement that she wanted Sophie to die. I'm sure it was just for effect and I'm afraid in my frazzled state that's what she got.

Oh well, tomorrow's another day.

Well, it always happens when you need it not to, and then you end up kicking yourself! I was having fun on Minti and telling myself "well, it's really only 10 o'clock, not 11" etc when Sophie woke up. It took an hour to get her back to sleep and so when I finally got to sleep it REALLY felt like 1am! She didnt sleep so well either, so it was not a good night, but she & I are still full of this catargh & cough, Em mildly so. It was a real struggle to get up at 7.40 and then dress Emma, and just as I was done Sophie woke up - she could usually make it til 9 if we didnt have the Preschool run. All in all we were late for Preschool yet again.

It started foggy today but once it was gone we had the most beautiful sunshine about. It's waking the bees, butterflies and ladybirds up - we went into the garden this afternoon with Sophie in a sunhat for the first time and just nappy, vest, shorts & T shirt. Emma dug holes but stayed remarkably clean considering what she's normally like - perhaps she was taking notice of me after all, ranting "if you want to get muddy, go get your old clothes and wellies on, otherwise stay clean!"

I was just spaced out all day, and laid down after we got home from our Same Boat mums meeting at church at about 3. I put Sophie sitting in her nest ring with her play cube in front of her (she seems to be able to steady herself and stay sitting for ages that way) and left the tv on for Emma. I dont know how long I'd nodded off for - maybe 10 mins - when I heard the TV go off. Emma had found the remote! I then heard her pad into the kitchen, so I ignored her and nodded briefly off again to the sound of taps being turned on and off and her chair being moved around to stand on. Reminded me of being heavily pregnant - I just had to leave her to get on with it then, after laying some ground rules. A few minutes later I woke and decided for reasons I cant now recall to investigate the activities in the kitchen. Just in time to see her pouring a tiny bit of apple squash concentrate into her cup of water! She couldnt have done better if she'd known I was watching! She'd found yesterday's juicecup on the dining table and taken it to the kitchen and "washed it up" (rinsed it - oh well, probably clean enough!), then put the water in and finally put the juice in. Ideal! I gave her a special sticker to show how impressed I was!

By now Sophie had had enough of sitting so I popped her on her tummy for a bit. My head was starting to thump. When I used to work outside the home pre-Emma I had a real problem with stress-induced migraines, and even left one job because it was too stressful for me. Now my trigger is broken sleep!

I did what I could to keep walking around holding Sophie as that kept her happy and helped me cope. I took 2 ibuprofens when normally I would stick to one, but with Alan away I can't afford to go under with a full-blown migraine. I popped the convenience lasagne into the oven, rough chopped one carrot into a saucepan of water and decided that would do for dinner! We had choc-ice lollies for pudding - scraping the bottom of the barrell! When I served up the food, the tablets still hadnt worked so I handed the pot of shopmade baby food to Emma with two spoons, wrapped Sophie up well in a sleeved bib and a muslin and for the first time so far gave her permission to feed Sophie and have a bit herself! She told me later she'd had just over half the apple puree and I think I believe her. If I'd been feeding Sophie tonight she'd have got a few minutes of milk and had to wait for more later! A compromise worth making.

 

Well, Al had to get up at 6 (which must have still felt like 5!) - he said Em had woken him anyway as her duvet had fallen off. We have a waterproof cover on the duvet/quilt inside and then the "pretty" cover on the outside, but it makes it really slippery, perhaps we should dispense with it but it has saved the duvet about half a dozen times in the last year since she chose to go dry at night...

Well, Em's threatened cold has not fully materialised, thank goodness, and while I still feel pretty tired I'm not as knackered as yesterday! (Excuse me, that's not rude in Suffolk where Im from, and it really captures how I felt!!!). I even got a nap shock horror! I took Soph upstairs for afeed/nap at 2 and plonked Em infront of her Charlie & Lola (ie favourite) dvd. Just out of curiosity I put on BBC Radio 7 and listened to the new Cbeebies afternoon kids shows. Some time later I woke up as Em walked in but feined asleepness successfully for at least 10 mins while her favourite tv shows played.

 

Well, after a glorious night on Friday (7.5 hours, did I say???) last night was horrid. My throat hurt, I was parched, I coughed and sneezed Sophie awake, and I heard Sophie gagging on phlegm just as I was. Understandably she woke quite a few times, I wasnt counting but I did see my DAB radio change from 1.59am to 3.00am. I could hardly drag myself out of bed today but also I couldnt go back to sleep as I run my husband's schedule (like most wives do, by default!) and I knew he had to be up in the spare room by 8 and I couldnt hear him by 8.15BST. So I crept away from Sophie and woke him - his alarm was set, his mobile phone knew it was BST but he hadnt noticed the alarm thought it wasnt supposed to go off on Sundays!

Well, I felt so rough I could hardly lift the kettle. Fortunately Em and Soph slept in til 9+ BST. Al had to go to church to set up the sound desk for a visiting band at 9. At 10.25 he rushed back for Emma, who seemed fairly well tho' she feined the same symptoms as me (had that during my pregnancy!). The medication was kicking in by then, though coz of breast feeding I'm rather limited in my choices.

By 12.30 I felt ok-ish. So Al and Em came to pick us up. There were two meals and a kids club laid on, which I must admit were a bit of an incentive to dip my toe in the proverbial water! Well, whenever I stood for any length of time I felt exhausted, so I quickly decided not to join the other 50+ adults who were litter picking the estate for 150 mins. I helped a little with laying the tables for the roast dinner and sat and fed Soph whenever she woke. The weather was rather nice for them and they covered a lot of ground (lit & met).

Emma was really good in the kids club and one of the visiting team (who is a teacher) complimented Em's behaviour in keeping up with the older kids. One of the Friday Night Club leaders also said how well Em behaves then. I must have this begging look "pleeeease tell me my High Needs kid is ok except when I'm around!!!" It was nice of them to bother to encourage me.

Then we brought Emma home.... She was worn out by the days activities so we had no fun conning her that it was bedtime at 6.30BST (5.30 GMT). However she gave Alan major grief during bedtime. She's normally a bit trying at bedtime, but when she's coming down with something, that's when she gets really obnoxious. She got completely hysterical and Alan had to leave her in her room for some time to calm down. I admire his patience! He also feels washed out... uhoh! He's due to go to Ware tomorrow for the week, and my inlaws are on holiday, so if she is ill and me & Soph are too, it will be batten down the hatches!

Pre-children I used to feel entitled when absolutely necessary to take sick leave and sit in front of daytime telly and wait to feel a bit better. Sometimes I wish mummys got sick leave too!

Well, I've put Sophie to bed earlier for 3 nights now. Its harder for me as it's disrupting me, but I'm trying to think long term! She went 4 hours the first night and 7.5 hrs last night.Unfortunately Thursday night Em woke 3 times and Soph a similar number (cue zombie mummy). Last night Soph only woke me at 4.30am and Em not at all, both coming to after 8 am - but oh boy did we need it!

Al got back from Ware at 6.15pm last night - they let him leave early as I'd had such a rough night. Unfortunately the machine broke down so it looks like he may be away all next week too intead of the anticipated 2 days .

Switching back to BST tonight, so I hope they both try to go to "8am" GMT tomorrow - 7am sounds ok! Now Im having another panic - that is the right way, isnt it? Spring forward, Fall back.

Yesterday morning both me & Soph went down with new colds. Emma has a horrible eczema flare-up too, esp on her torso & back, which aren't the normal places at all. She's scratched holes in the back of her neck and her chest is taking a battering.  We're using the Minti-suggestions of Fairy Cream and Smiley Faces, but it really stings putting aqueous cream on  her neck & cheeks and she tends to cry and try to rub it off, which is awful. We put hydrocortisone ointment on her face this morning and she (already upset from being punnished for hurting her sister) lost it and shut erself in her room, yelling at us to "go away!". Bet that ointment came straight off!

Inertia is easier than taking action - why?! Sophie is less clingy now she has gotten over her cold so I decided to bite the bullet last night and put her to bed after Emma rather than feeding her until I'm ready for bed. Well, some success, some not. She slept for 50 mins then fed for ten slept for ten for the next hour, then did circa an hour, then I went to bed. She didnt sleep any better or worse overnight (as far as I recall!) but was wide awake at 7.30 rather than the usual 830 - ah well. I've done it again tonight and she slept for 2 mins then had another feed but now has gone 75 mins. I can hear her stirring on the monitor now. It will be worth it!

Alan is away for the rest of the week (Tuesday - Fri this week & at least Mon & Tues next week) in Ware. Missing him loads, but as least these odd hours in the evenings are helping me keep the kitchen clear!

Went out to Brewers Fayre for lunch (big chain, with star attraction of soft play area for Em). I had a headache so I needed plenty of distraction!

Emma & J decided to paint their arms at Preschool today - hmmmm, wonder where that idea came from? Emma! They both came home in borrowed tops "I dodnt know it was naughty mummy!" said Emma.

In the afternoon Emma accidentally woke Sophie just as she'd dropped off to sleep, so we cast a warey eye at the sky (clouds in some directions, sun in others) and went for a walk on the old train track behind our house. Emma saw a rabbit run across infront of us and thinks she saw a small deer. She got carried away following dog-walkers paths through the nature reserves and we came out on the main road. Shall we go the short or long way home", I asked her. "Long way" said Emma, showing no signs of flagging. Sophie, in baby carrier, had fallen sound asleep by this point. Well, we got about the furthest from home on the roadside route and then it started to slowly sleet snow and hail at us. Somewhere about this point Emma sat on the ground and said she was too tired to continue! We still had at least 20 mins to go (though at Emma speeds that's more likely to be 30 mins) and with Soph on my front, carries wasnt even an option, so I persuaded her up and we carried on. I got her talking about what she remembered about the morning of Sophie's birth. We got two streets away from home and she made to sit on the wet pavement. The hail was coming down harder. Brainwave time: I invented "running chocolate" (Emma's name for it) - we counted the lamp posts and whoever got to each one first got a small chunk on chocolate from the emergency bar in my pocket. Result - Emma literally ran up the hill to home - 10 minute walk done in 5! Phew!

Earlier in the afternoon Emma was doing a picture using round stickers when "mummy, look!". We christenend them "Peacock Pox":

Happy Mothers Day!

Well, I rather sleep-walked my way thru it after Em woke me up sobbing at 1am (not sure if nightmare or just too sleepy to make it to the loo, or both) and Soph didnt have the most settled of nights.

The predicted wintry weather arrived in mid-afternoon - snow & hail! Brrrrr! Its frosty right now - wonder how the spring flowers & blossom will fare?

Meant to upload these to here - oops!

We finally took Emma & Sophie swimming today. Ems skin has been bad for a few months so I've been putting it off and promising to take her when it improved. Well, its a bit better. We vaselined her bad bits (knees, wrists & elbows) before getting in, and showered & rapidly creamed her afterwards. We'll see what happens. We put Em in a float jacket for 1st time - worked well (armbands annoy her arms) and Soph in a yellow float ring, which she seemed to love being in. Well, a great time was had by all, we stayed in ages & all were tired out once we got out so we went in the sports centre cafe for lunch. Soph slept in Als arms while he ate. Crashed out infront of Wallace & Gromit Were Rabbit dvd when we got home - Soph fed to sleep in my arms, I fell asleep & so did Al - only Em kept her eyes open!

It was a lovely sunny spring day. I dropped Em off at Preschool then went into town to have Sophie's passport photo taken. Then we walked to Preschool half an hour early as they had a special Mothers Day/Red Nose Day coffee morning on. The kids had iced biscuits and fairy cakes, and sang us a cute song about Mothers Day. After lunch we walked down to the park and met up with Em's friend J, who is 11 months younger and half her size. He was trying to copy Em and it brought it home how much Em has learned to do in the last year, plus what a bonus it is for her to have long arms & legs! (She's just shot up 2cm in 2 weeks and is 115cm.) We had a drink in the Leisure Centre cafe then came home just before Al.

The weather's so spring-like - hard to believe they're predicting snow in a few days! (How British am I, talking about the weather  ?!)

Al is working away in Ware Tuesday to Tuesday next week - back on Friday night & off again Monday. It just got longer by a day today - just as well I didnt buy a ticket for a Preschool fundraiser today for the second Tuesay. They've just moved his Evreux work from before Easter to after Easter. Probably change again before we get there!

Sophie is still very clingy, with her cough. I got very frustrated today coz I couldnt get anything done.

Here are two pics of Emma with Sophie in her door bouncer taken yesterday!

Ohhhhh, this afternoon was just one of THOSE afternoons.

Sophie, still full of cough & cold, is tired and clingy.

Emma was in one of those "whatever you say I'll do the opposite" moods.

Every time Soph fed asleep, she got pulled, twanged or prodded, so she kept waking up and understandably hollering.

At one point I dumped Sophie on the beanbag next to me with her taggie, warned Emma to carry on colouring and stay clear of me, and tried to calm myself with a distracting crossword. But I was so wound up I couldnt think of any words, which made me worse, so i sat & doodled a maze for Emma, which did calm me down a bit. Fortunately Emma took me seriously and stayed clear, as I was aware I was a bit of a tightly coiled spring. In the end Sophie hollered enough that I had to pick her up, but only after the maze was done. Had to be calm first!

Soph had her first go in a door bouncer today and seemed to really enjoy herself (even when Emma tried to swing her on it!). Al also got the highchair/swing down from the loft and I fed Soph in her highchair for the 1st time and rocked her off to sleep in the rocker after Al converted it for me. I wish manufacturers would road-test these things on sleep-deprived parents before stating they are multi-purpose/easy to use! I hardly used it for Em as I couldnt change it round - not helped by being unable to put Em down for 2 seconds of course. Yes, they should road-test all baby-gadgets to the sound of a screaming baby! Couldnt concentrate at all!

Well, Soph is still full of cough, poor thing. She has an average nite (ie I remember thinking "what, just 3 hours, oh well" once or twice). Then Em crept in for a cuddle just before 7. She was good & quiet, but Soph woke for a feed about 715 so I was feeding her laying down, Em was being quiet, Sophs eye lids were drooping, and then Em pops her head up to look at Soph, Soph spots her, beams her best smiles at her and..... all thoughts of sleep were gone! Soph was grumpy all morning, but then she was almost 2 hours short on sleep.

I the afternoon we went out to the garden centre/fish place, as Al needed stuff for his aquarium and I wanted Soph to sleep either in the car or in the baby carrier, in order to catch up. And I wanted Em to burn some energy off. And I wanted to keep Al awake - fed up with him falling asleep on the floor - think jet lag and work stress are sending him comatose!

Well, Soph loves fish and had a good look, before falling asleep for the rest of the afternoon. We stopped at the GC cafe for drinks, which was fun except when Em burst into tears and dropped to the floor when she spotted the ice lollies and we said "no"! After Tuesday, it was so minor I just found it funny, so she was never going to win! Em then got daddy to hide with her around the GC, and I was the seeker. Poor Al cant hide his 6'2" frame very easily!!!

Then we went to a Rec to play on the play area. Em spun us on the roundabout - we got seriously dizzy but she always walked off in a straight line - howd she do that?! We also had a go on the teen equipment - makes me feel young again, and it gave Em the confidence to have a go on some things which she was wary of!

Then we stopped for fish'n'chips on the way home - mums like a day off too!

Soph is currently asleep on my lap, Em asleep in her bed and Al is "lying down" aka asleep in the spare room. Peace & quiet!

My contented little baby was so high-needs yesterday! She had coughed awake all night, and wriggled off her side-car cot into bed with me (at nearly 5 months!) just for the comfort of contact repeatedly. Then she needed holding ALL day, couldnt nap without me and screamed thru the whole of  dinner prep & eating. She clearly had a sore throat so I resorted to 5ml paracetamol twice yesterday. She sleep-snacked in my arms all evening then fed asleep at 1145. I awoke to Em creeping in at 645. Even her coughing and my sneezing didnt completely wake Sophie, who slept til I came in to dress at circa 840am. I sent Em into the spare room at 7 to wake daddy - he can ignore the alarm but not her!

I think if that kind of High-needs behaviour hadnt been normal with Em I would have been despairing with Sophie yesterday - its so claustrophobic!

Daddy being late home is never easy to take, but when you're dealing with the screaming hour (5-6) you really need him to walk in by 6pm! He was held up yesterday by his conciencious nature and a bunch of jobsworths in the States. The UPS driver didnt even have the gumption to phone in and say "can you look up this zipcode for me? I have the whole address except the town" and the warehouse guy wouldnt take a risk and break from normal practice to sign an urgent parcel with import duty on it in, even though his colleagues and the consultant were twiddling their thumbs next door waiting for it, so he sent it away! What was a 24 hour delivery has now taken 3 days! I'm going to teach my kids to think for themselves and take calculated risks!

Emma made Alan laugh tonight, thank goodness (she's got a knack for winding my previously so-laid-back-he's-horizontal hubbie up)!

"Shut up!" she said to him at bedtime, for the first time trying that wonderful phrase!

Al frowned at her.

Knowing she was in trouble, she looked for a way to fix it quick

".....please?" she offered, to much laughter.

Then, being Emma, she tried it again.

"It was funny the first time, but not the second!" he cautioned.

Being Emma, she tried it on me later, and got the same response.

Lets hope we dont see it again for a long time, but it was quick thinking of her!!!

Just so I dont forget how nice they can be, Soph was in her bouncy chair this afternoon and Emma walked over to her and started chatting to her. Sophie just giggled and giggled, and of course that made Em giggle to. This went on for a good 5 minutes. Excellent! Definitely a bottle-it moment!

Today was coloured by one of the worst tantrums Em has had in over a year. I think she'd got over tired playing at Preschool then playing and having lunch with her two best mates at church for our "All in the Same Boat" mums meeting. When it was time to go, none of the 3 preschoolers was happy, but Ems tantrum got worse and worse, with her screaming, kicking and hitting, and me hanging on for grim death and putting socks and wellies on my large strong 4 year old. Naughty step wasnt an option as I knew the two leaders needed to get away, so it was grit teeth and get on with it. Fortunately we were one of the last to leave, and each of the mums who did or might have seen it (I get tunnel vision during tantrums) have at least one "challenging" child, so I'm sure I wasnt being marked down. Marching her out to the car sans wellies wasnt an option as there is always plenty of broken glass about, or I would have done it. The two leaders were great, holding Sophie, handing me wellies at the right time and carrying my bags out to the car for me so I could clamp my hand round Emma's wrist. One even said "well done" when Em was safely strapped into her car seat - I could have kissed her, what an encourager! I was left drained physically an emotionally. I gave Emma a lecture later about how disappointed I was with her behaviour, which was totally unacceptable for a 4 year old, and Alan did the same when he got home, and made her say sorry to me.

Good news - Emma and Sophie are, all being well, going to have one new cousin in October. Als sister has had it confirmed that there is one heart beat and it's in the right place. Miracle or what!

Last night I decided it was time to check out Dr Sears, as advocated by KSeers & Izzy.

I realised that by intinct/chance I'd been pretty much following Dr Sears advice about my High Needs kid already.

When my big girl was born, the best bit of advice I got was from a friend who was 11 months further down the line than me: "you're her mum. You love her and know her better than anyone. Whatever you choose to do will be the best things for her." That empowered me so much.

I've had to smile serenely and listen to other people's well meant advice on how to raise my daughter, knowing most of the time that what worked for their kid/s wouldn't work for this one of mine. But every now and then I'd wonder if I'd done it all wrong - perhaps it wasn't her personality that was moulding and informing my mothering choices but my own weaknesses and mistakes. It's so good to see stuff that Dr Sears has written like that High Needs kids hate to be put down, are awful sleepers, are born loud, unpredictable, etc. I worked all these out for myself and didnt try to make her be something she is not.

https://www.askdrsears.com/html/5/T050400.asp

Well, I got to see the lunar eclipse last night (read The Parent Coach's Blog in time, then got confused as the moon didnt go into shadow for ages). It was pretty spectacular when I went to bed, total eclipse.

Another bad night with Sophie.

Today I have a headache from disturbed sleep.

I realised that I was really hoping for a miracle of no headaches while Alan was away - I only had a headache on the day my inlaws arrived, so they held the fort. A real answer to prayer.

Jet lag has caught up with Alan.

He's home!!!!

Last night I waited til Als plane finally took off from North Carolina (oops - it was very late). Then me & Soph went upstairs. Went to switch Ems nightlight off and her duvet fell off, waking her. It did it a few hours later - woken by "mummmmmyyyyyyyyyyyy!!!!!!" sobbed down the hall. Then Sophie didnt feed to sleep, poor little girl was so fidgety and I need to cut her fingernails- scatching me as she sucked, oww! It took more than an hour to get to sleep, tried sitting & lying down. Think I fed her later, its a bit of a blur. Then Em came in at 6 - obviously coughed awake as when I let her in for a cuddle, she fell asleep then coughed awake half a dozen times, so we gave up as we were disturbing Sophie and came downstairs to Big Cook Little Cook. Im gonna be as jetlagged as Al!

His plane took off from Newark half an hour late.

A lot can change in a few hours...

Al is still coming home, but the weather is delaying planes in North Carolina so they'll miss their Newark connection to Brum. So instead they're catching a later flight to Manchester - thats an hour further away in the taxi!

Em went to her friends to play and came home with a very heavy cold, even agreeing not to go out to her kids club at 6 coz she felt so rotten (tho she tried to go at 6.30!).

Soph isnt herself, grumpy and off her food, so I bet shes just a day behind her big sister!

Come to think of it, I feel rather grumpy... am I about to catch a cold or have I just had enough???

We could be a right group tomorrow - 3 coldy girls and a jet lagged daddy!

Al said in his email last night that even though they'd had a bad day, they will be flying tonight - Raleigh to Newark to Birmingham. He will be so tired tomorrow as he'll not sleep on account of being too tall for the seats, so we'll just have a zombified body all weekend, but at least he'll be home!

Soph did midnight to 4 then slept only to 6 then to 8 - not ideal. Praps its my fault, staying up on Minti too late. Poor babe was almost upside down on my lap at one point, fast asleep!

I'll have to go to bed after Al takes off tonight from Raleigh Durham at apx 9 pm GMT, not wait til the landing at Newark! We'll see tomorrow if i did as i wrote!!!

Well, Grandma & Grandad went home this evening - the house is so quiet! (Em is in bed though!) Still waiting to hear if Al will be able to fly home before or after the weekend - not knowing is the killer!

We went out for lunch today. Em was over the moon as two of her friends from Preschool just happened to be there playing on the soft-play equipment. For the most part she played nicely (only had to make her say sorry once, though she was warned once or twice, as there were several smaller kids getting caught in the crossfire). More surprisingly she got upset and went into mourning/long sulk when one of her friends told her he didnt want to be her friend any more (he has a reputation for this).  By the time we left they'd made up but I decided to have a chat at bedtime about the silly and hurtful things other kids say and do. We ended up on the subject of bullying - s'pose it was a natural progression. I hope it means she's more prepared when someone tries it on. I really hadnt expected her to be so sensitive. Either this kid is more important to her than I'd realised or she is more sensitive to rejection than I'd realised.