3rd of January

Well I didn't get the much needed sleep last night, damn it!  Loooong story, but let's just say that the comedy of errors that started at 9pm continued until 4am.  Oh yes, you read correctly.

Anyway, luckily I had one of those days today where the children played together so well it made the whole day easy.  It all started in the morning when Ted was desperate to play a moon game.  So the bunk bed became the rocket, we all blasted off to the moon and there was much excitement when we touched down on the lunar surface and we all walked around with our space boots on (read: purple clogs).  This game went on for ages and Harriet and Ted had a blast (*ahem* pun intended).

Harriet requested a haircut to make her cool for summer - her requirements were that it had to be above her shoulders, and render the need for hair accoutrement obsolete.  Well while I had to ask her to stay still, Ted decided to 'help' by putting on a show.  Singing, dancing, clapping, discussions - this show had it all.  Unfortunately the show was a little too interactive and Harriet's hair is less than even as a result.  However she loves it.  LOVES it!  And told every single person we came into contact with about it (random man walking his dogs, Caltex shopkeeper, waitress at the cafe, you get the picture).

We only had one out-of-house experience to fulfill today, which was meeting a friend at a cafe.  Ted was ridiculously tired by the end of this and I was certain he'd have a little kip in the car on the way home.  But no!  Which of course meant he was tired and crazy all afternoon, yeah?






Hell no!  In fact when we got home the children played together beautifully AGAIN.  *All* afternoon, in fact for nearly two hours while I worked out what to make for dinner, pottered around aimlessly working out the ingredients (I realise this makes me sound like a moron but I had to soak some cashews and then lightly roast them and prepare mangoes etc. which was slightly fiddly), anyway, for those two hours the children played together without the need for a UN intervention system.

Grateful doesn't cover it.

It turns out they were playing 'Space Babies' which was brilliant because it covers their two foci - space (which Ted loves and Harriet is interested in) and babies (which Harriet loves and Ted is interested in).  Ted's only needs from me were to help him put on a shirt so he could have a doll stuffed up there to birth in space, and then to help him find another doll to use a bit later on when he decided twins were a good idea.  They were crawling all over the house cracking up laughing, Ted being the sun baby and Harriet being the moon baby.

And after the space game there was a dip in the Expedit tubs from IKEA.  Every summer we drag them out on to the lawn, fill them up and the children have a blast.  I don't quite know what I'll do when Harry can't fit in them any more (in fact she was pretty contorted in there but she is also incredibly stubborn).

A bit rambling today, apologies.  But boy I'm tired.  And I have to admit, I did not think I'd be posting a sibling love photo like the rest of you already have.  Harriet's Mao-like fascist control over every detail of Ted's behaviour may be easing somewhat.  Oh glorious day!