Week 1 was spent at my parents’, mostly sitting on my bum drinking endless cups of tea (all made for me) while they catered and entertained the children. Lovely and restful and rejuvenative, and C (who commuted into london every day, which I think he rather enjoyed; change good as rest and all that) & I even managed a meal out. Together. Caught up with a selection of friends and mostly the sun shone.

This week has been sunshine and heavy heavy showers, and nicely busy. So lovely getting up in a normal way in the mornings; no rushing about shrieking SHOES! On Monday we went to Chatsworth to meet a whole forum of ladies with babies born in November 2006 (so Tamsin’s age). Having “known” them for over 3 years, I was still surprised that they were all as imagined; not a hairy middleaged trucker to be seen. We had a really lovely day and I hope we will see them again! Tuesday, predictably, we were knackered so did very little apart from a friend’s “barbeque” (cooked under brolly, eaten indoors) in the evening – a late night for the children saw Maggie sleep in past 8 the next morning! Garden centre to meet anther new online friend yesterday morning then a jolly trip to Costco in the afternoon. Very interesting for me, never having been before, but rather less so for the hooligans. And this morning Tamsin is at nursery. Maggie and I have had such a nice quality time together! Went into town on the bus (it felt just like the old days, when I was expecting T and we used to take the bus in to go to the library), popped to Starbucks and the toy shop at a  leisurely pace (shopping with Tamsin is just not fun), pottered in and out of various other shops, and wandered home again.

An updatey sort of a post. In bullets, because that is the sort of focused and efficient mind I have.

• We survived M’s first year of school! Relatively unscathed: she’s reading beautifully and seems so grown up. Am extremely glad to have 6 lovely weeks of not spending 10 minutes every morning shouting shoes! bag! coat! shoes! SHOES!*
• Anomaly scan on Friday showed no problems with new baby. Girls behaved beautifully and were very interested (sonographer had a student in so explained very well, and was really nice to the children too).  Tamsin was slightly anxious – held my hand throughout and was very worried about the gel “it’s all gluey“. Midwife completely thrown by my non-standard notes and made me explain why I hadn’t had a dating scan and justify why I was using an IM this time. Interestingly, the hospital printouts contain “EDD by dating scan” so I have no idea where that has come from.
• Had C’s parents down this weekend – walked at Loggerheads yesterday. Rain held off until we got to our picnic – and we walked 3 miles to the Devil’s Gorge and back, even the children** – though the sandwiches got a bit soggy. Some sort of iron-age reconstruction people were there, which was quite interesting – I am always intrigued by the re-enactors, how do they pick their era? What makes them think yes, I will devote my life to being a Pict goodness me I would hate to be a Roman/Medieval person/Sealed Knot type? (Though having done a bit of wiki investigation, I find they don’t necessarily devote their lives: there is apparently 3 categories, ranging from “farbs” who might – gasp – wear polyester or trainers – to “stitch counters” who are very hardcore. Hmm.)

*We will just overlook the shouting that has already happened, 1 hour into the holiday, because I have no patience for the two of them screeching at each other.

**T was carried for half of it.

and has helped me fix this so in principle FB should now see a link to my website with a summary, rather than reams and reams and reams of writing; I hope people will now leave comments at turquoise rather than on FB where they are ephemeral like the wind not carved in stone to haunt you forever more.

Let’s see if it works with this long and convoluted test post.

Also, Torchwood is on.

There’s a distinct whiff of spring in the air today, as evidenced by this picture of the children outside without a million layers of clothing. It’s half term, too, so the afternoon was of a sensible length and conformation, without the very annoying school run that usually bisects any activity of interest. Thought I’d just pop in and say hello, still alive, back when I think of something to say. Are you missing me?

January was busy, with my birthday swiftly followed by Cameron’s significant birthday plus party, with my grandmother’s funeral thrown in somewhere between the two for good measure. February has so far been remedially peaceful.

I have zero energy and less enthusiasm. I’m not miserable, nor do I have any weirdy seasonal bluesy thing: I just want to curl up on the sofa with a book, and maybe have a nap. I do not want to shop for food (though I have done so), put it away (though I will, soon), cook, clean or do any of my usual jobs. I don’t much want to do the school run; I certainly don’t want to exercise. I can’t be bothered visiting my allotment and the spring bulbs are still in bags on top of the microwave. The house is gradually getting more and more of a tip (and we’ve a babysitter on Saturday so I must get off my bum before then) and we have no clean socks. I cannot face going out with the old boys tonight: even less so since plan A – walking to the pub with Peter and Mrs Peter – has been put off in favour of plan B – waiting for C to get home from Germany then going down later on my own. People reckon I must go, it will do me good. I expect they are right

I am feeling very hibernatey (yes it is a word thank you very much) which is the perfect opportunity to start knitting a doll for Maggie’s birthday (or next Christmas if I don’t get along as quickly as I hope). It is nearly 20 years since I knitted anything – I am so old – but so far* it has been ok, despite requiring me to learn from a book a new method of casting on. I hope it will turn out like this one.

Apparently it was -11 degrees in Chester last night, and it certainly felt icy this morning, so I feel no guilt about staying in. I can hardly insist Tamsin digs in the sandpit. I have lentils boiling, flapjack baking, T asleep on the sofa. Also nothing for tea and dust you could write your name in, but I never claimed to be perfect.

*4 rows and counting.

It’s been a while hasn’t it. Very pleasant festive season here: sorry to see M and C go back today and T is not at all sure what to do with herself. No resolutions, because I don’t really go in for them, but lots of plans and a very long list of Things To Do. Including sorting out that allotment (or giving it up altogether) and a new photoproject at blip. Which is somewhat hampered by having broken my lens: I have to take everything from the other side of the house via my very zoomy zoom. Tripod required.

I have a most exciting night out planned for Wednesday: the old boys from the allotment’s Christmas night out (to the local) , plus both Cameron and I have birthdays this month. Busy busy and I hope to be back here a bit more, too.

Poor me.

Cameron left for Japan* at 7 am on Saturday: I was left to shiver achily under a blanket on the sofa while the children trashed the house. (I am still full of cold and yet to find the energy to pick up all the bits from every single jigsaw we own and sort them into the appropriate boxes: it is a good job Cameron is still away as he doesn’t tolerate bits on the floor terribly well.)

Tamsin fell off a bridgey thing at Tumbletots on Monday and smacked her head on the floor. I am hoping that is her third thing and she will be ok now: she is such an urchin with hacked hair, pointy teeth and a bruise. She does have a whole lovely new winter wardrobe though, as I got a bit carried away at Mothercare.

On the very bright and exciting side: Maggie brought home her very first reading book last week and (mostly) read it to me! Am very proud.

*so I was already sulking.

Well, that was a rotten day. People said M would be testing the boundaries when she started schhol and I thought I was prepared for it, if a little unclear what exactly they meant.

Today, she cut off Tamsin’s hair. Then started on her own.

I am so sad; I love little T in bunches and now it will be months before she can have them again. It looks absolutely dreadful (here).

Obviously we didn’t go to the zoo, as we had planned. Cameron has gone to Germany (he was going anyway, he hasn’t gone there in a huff or anything) and I’m just feeling really low tonight. With an enormous to-do list for the week looming over me. No chocolate in the house either.

Well, we’ve survived a week of fulltime school. Maggie has settled easily and well, if secretively. If she is to be believed she has been having some very peculiar school dinners (yet coming home with a daily sticker for eating it all, so I tend to think her accounts of just lettuce and tomato sauce, or just a biscuit, are slightly fictional) and she has grazes on knees and elbows. PE was fun and she is making friends. Even I was found standing in a chatting circle of mums at the school gate on Friday: I felt very included. In a nice way. She’s tired, with bedtime tears, but so far not as bad as I had expected. And so looks just gorgeous in her little uniform.

I was prepared to struggle with the early starts – but that has, so far, been easier than anticipated. Once I got my head round having to be out of bed by 7.30 (it is early for us) then we’ve just done it. I was unprepared for suddenly finding myself with a toddler to entertain:  I hadn’t appreciated just how much the girls play together and all of a sudden Tamsin wants me to play with her. She is delighted when Maggie gets home (she holds her arms up and says yay! when I say it is time to go and collect her). I have a few toddler activities lined up – mostly on a Wednesday which is just manic with swimming (T), rhythm time (T) and ballet (M) one after the other. We tried storytime at the library but I was a bit unimpressed (one story then they got out the instruments and bunged on a CD of children’s songs). I very much want to incorporate allotment visits into our week too: I just need to do it for a bit and it will (probably) fall into place.

We had a lovely anniversary night out in Liverpool: the streets were shut for la machine and we were half an hour early for the restaurant (actually half an hour late into town – we had intended having a drink first – because the roads were flooded) so we walked down and had a look at it, then had a gorgeous meal at Etsu. After a bit of to- and fro-ing they even made me an off-menu lemon sour (shochu, soda and freshly squeezed lemon). Most of the restaurant was occupied by the Japanese FA so it felt really nostalgic with Japanese banter going on behind us. Tamsin, little sod that she is, slept through the entire night 8-7 without a peep for her aunty Sara, then did the same for us on Saturday. (To put this into context: she has done this twice before in her entire little life, at 3 months old. So that’s, what, 19 months of broken sleep.) Back to normal since, with 2.30 the favoured time to summons me (yawn).