Mummy power zero, toddler power 1...

The night time wanderer is at loose. She is in her Big girl bed! Finally! I took the plunge. Well, for the last few months she has been getting herself in and out of her cot, so it was a sign. I have dragged my feet letting Esmie into the Big girl bed world, for the reason now staring me in the face, asking me for a ‘dwink’ and batting her big blue eyes. Cute, but ‘GET BACK INTO BED!!!!!!!’ She is gone, but I am more than sure that within seconds, she will be out again…Wish me luck! This tries me, officially, she’s testing me,  and I am gonna lose (it). Right, Esmie is out again, what do I do? Come on folks, help me put here. This is a real live nightmare.

At Lola's birthday party, last Saturday...

She finally gave up at 9.30. I have a cat sleeping on my knees, and arms, making typing nigh-on impossible. But there could be worse things sitting on my lap, right? I spent Wednesday, at rainy day activity action stations, ALL day. We got out for about 15 minutes, but the kids stood in the rain, on the forecourt raindrops dropping off their eyelashes, going ‘can we go in yet mummy?’ So I hastily gave up. Human rights I suppose, and all that…

Esmie has been paddying on and off ALL DAY LONG. Because, get this, she ‘hates’ jeans. She only ever wants to wear leggings, and as her fave pair were on the line drying (still no washing machine, laundrette becoming both impractical and extortionate). She puts all kinds of objects together to climb up and rag them off the line. The whole day is her spent cussing me for the fact I am in charge, and she is the loser today…! At the end of the day, the kids are eating every last bit of fruit I bought at the shops today, it’s too good the fresh fruit at the mo, and esmie, I watch, deliberately squish a strawberry into her onerous jeans. She swiftly looks up, declares there’s been an accident, they are wet and dirty, and cannot be warn anymore. She runs off to get ‘new chowsers’ and comes back in all made up with herself, sporting the forbidden leggings. Mummy power zero, toddler power 1...

Anyway, that aside, I have been dreading for a while doing what I am about to tell you I did. You’ll see why-bear with me (as always)…The teacher that has had both Monty, and now Lola, I think is brilliant. It’s been tough for the kids to begin with going to school, not speaking the language, and having to spend a day trying to understand, and be understood. It has been heartache every time I left them at school for the morning. They are so adaptable though, kids, and they learn SO much faster than we do. They have easily picked up the language, and the teachers have been fabulous helping them in this. After school, I took a deep breath, I wanted to ask Lola’s teacher if he would consider having Mitzi  next year. I cover my ears and eyes and run away into the kiddie toilets. He comes in and finds me with a big grin on his face…actually, I am changing the direction of this, that just sounded WRONG. I didn’t run away, I looked at him and mumbled my question, then when he didn’t hear me, told him it didn’t matter, ‘no, Madame Wood, go on’. So I did go on, I tend to have verbal diarrhoea at the best of times, and if you catch me on an answering machine ... bloody hell (often cut off middle of message, and am forced to ring back to finish it), he looked at me with a big smile (that’s better, and it’s the truth) told me he’d be delighted, he loved both Monty and Lola and was privileged to be asked, flattered. OMG! Didn’t expect that. I check for signs of drug addiction-all clear. The only thing is, Mitzi-moo is not exactly the same temperament as the big two, Little does he know...mwahahahahahahah. Well, she is super adorable actually, and has reformed of late, being good as gold (the whole ‘yes mum’, right away, mum', from previous blog) it's just, she’s just a bit more, well, climby? Active? Wild? ;) It'll be reet…Sozza Maitre.

Mitzi moo-moo, dancing it UP at the school spectacle (in brown)

I have just received my first ever massage from a kid-Lola. Ace! I then, however, get Mitzi coming up behind me, informing me she is about to give me a ‘masscharge’ for a minute, I am a little bit scared, I have no idea what to expect!! Wasn’t too bad as it turns out-well, at least she didn’t accidentally pull a chunk of hair out as Esmie did when it was her turn to do it to me.

I am off, busy day tomorrow, plus I am looking after my friend's 18 month-old all day too, she's got to do something, in a foreign country, never to come home again, oh dear. And her baby's having separation difficulties from mum at the mo, screaming like a (Monty just came down, and I asked him 'screaming like a ...what?' to which he replied 'err, a lion?' so here's me giving my son credit, but not understanding in the least, his logic) lion. And then this weekend, a trip up to friends’ for our first sheep BBQ. Thanks bus driver!

See ya, Tamsyn x