After a couple of weeks writing each evening with the various adventures and dramas surrounding us, I am returning to normal blogging service today. We are now a family - and are probably living through the same stresses and strains as any other family of five (and yes, that still sounds weird).
We had a visitor this afternoon - the other half of one of my work colleagues with their little girl who’s about one and a half. We knew they were bringing food to help us out with cooking (and for which we are more grateful than they may ever imagine), but we didn’t expect the presents and clothes for the girls.
Skipping ropes, cuddly toys, bracelets, t-shirts, colouring books… we are very, very fortunate to have the friends we have - their support is amazing. We find it difficult to relate how much it means.
The last several days have been hard work - full on, 7am until 8pm with the girls; playing, telling off, reading stories, bathing, getting dressed, getting undressed, praising, laughing with (and at), and basically spending what others term “quality time” with them. It is working - we are fast becoming a tightly knit unit - but it is very hard work.
A routine of sorts seems to be carving itself out. I do mornings infinitely better than W, so have no problem sliding out of bed at dawn to get the kids up, do their breakfast and then back upstairs for a wash and get dressed. Due to freezing weather the last few days, mornings have typically been dominated by board games, television, and various (very silly) games of hide-and-seek.
The afternoons have been hot and sunny once the sun pulled it’s finger out, so have been filled with playing in the park, the garden, or (as unfolded this afternoon) dressing up costumes. We have some very bizarre photos of a ballerina, a witch and Snow White playing football - I promise to upload them soon.
Late afternoon seems to be movie time. This afternoon saw a screening of “Star Wars - A New Hope” for the eldest while the others were very busy with colouring books and wandering between bedrooms and the living room.
Dinner finally arrives with the arrival of little people at the dinner table at the slightest mention of the word “dinner”. While eating dinner, if anybody accidentally mentions “pudding” the middle child will instantly claim she doesn’t like any of her food. If anybody else has a different drink to her, she will claim she doesn’t like her drink (the same juice she’s been drinking all day). If questioned, she is full up - and yet can eat more pudding than all of us put together. We are just glad she is eating at all.
We have to slow the youngest down at meal times. Of them all, she has the most obvious signs of neglect - when given food she tries to eat as much as she can as fast as she can - often without chewing. We are combatting this by keeping an eye on her, and chopping things up small. Hopefully she will slow down when it registers that she will always get breakfast, lunch and dinner every day - at the moment she is too young to reason with though, so we act as food police.
Bathtime is perhaps the most fun time - in a complete reverse of boys, little girls seem to love bathtime. We have of course made it fun too - with all manner of toys and activities in the bath to mess around with. This evening’s game was “who can spell the longest word on the side of the bath with the foam letters”. The youngest managed “cat” by pure luck and had us all laughing.
Bedtime also means story time in our house. I believe this evening saw the oldest being read “The House on Pooh Corner”, while I read a Rupert the Bear story to the younger ones. Creeping out of the darkened room and looking back at their flaked out forms always makes me smile.
Quite often we look back in when we go to bed, and suppress laughter at their often quite mad positions.
This afternoon while watching Star Wars the eldest leaned over conspiratorially towards me and whispered “I like you”.