5th of January

 

And finally I get to today.   Today was our wind down day.  I didn't mention it but yesterday James spent the day getting nice and drunk in his annual SCG Members experience.  Today he was back with us (with only an impressively mildly rumpled spirit) and it was a day of house pottering.  We had no plans, nothing to do and no real hurry to do anything at all.  The children played beautifully all day except for one particularly harsh explosion which I dealt with in such an awesome fashion that I wrote on facebook that it seemed somehow so very wrong to yearn for praise on my praise-free, gentle and present parenting.  Damn my upbringing in the age of extrinsic motivation!

 

I took the photo of the children as I sat at the sewing machine to finally make the skirt from a tablecloth that had been sitting in my WIP basket for months and months and months.  Oh the shame.  It wasn't even really a work-in-progress, merely an idea in formation.  It was only a small tablecloth and I took a punt on it being a suitable length for me, but I figured if worst comes to worst I could wear it just around the beach or so.  And it turned out that yes, it is just a little too short for my liking, especially given that a.) I have highly unattractive knees and b.) I haven't worn a skirt this short for many a year which makes me super self conscious.  But anyway, since I finished it mere minutes before walking out the door I felt compelled to don it for its first outdoor experience.  And poor cloth had only seen the inside of the basket for so long it needed a little sunshine and fresh air.

 

And where was it we were off to?  Well the plan had initially been the Concordia Club, but that was put to rest when we rocked up to the station and from  across the station came the ominous quiet of a less-than-rowdy outdoor club.  James and I shared an anxious glance.  Harriet and I ran across the bridge only to see that, tragically, the door was closed and no-one was there.  Closed! 

Instead our little group found a happy home at the Golden Barley, where Tigerlily was barely capable of physically withstanding the onslaught of Ted's affection and Ted cried at not being fed quickly enough.  Is anyone picking up on a theme here?  After forcing our conversation to a close (well it's more like an extended pause button between Amelia and I), it was home to once again have the NOT TIRED discussion.  Hmmm...again with the theme.

And now that I am up to date with PAD, I am hoping that tomorrow finds me free of tales ending in food woe from Ted and indignation over a perceived slight from Harriet.  Of course that would mean they had been transformed into completely different children overnight.  Which would make me sad.  Because they are also totally and completely all shades of fantastic.  My fantastic.