Author Archives: Daddybean

Which was basically what I said partway through a big Tesco shopping expedition yesterday – stock run down in the run up to holidays and we needed stuff before an online order would ahve arrived. I was tired (Butterbean is waking up and feeding often during the night, and we are so bad at going to bed at anything remotley like a sensible time, I went in the afternoon, rather than the morning as planned, I had both girls with me (not unknown, but with Helen on maternity leave it wasn’t usually necesary) Had both girls in the trolley seats, BB loved it as she was ideally postioned to pull Stringbean’s hair (one of her favourite tricks) and SB could escape – so much fussing, eventually let SB out to walk, which is pain as she wanders about, wants to push trolley, can grab things, not just point at them etc. so put her back in trolley , by now BB fed up and starting to wail – time to abort the trip…… and time to do an online order me thinks.

On the subject of shopping, what is it with families all going out together to shop? I don’t mean an amble round the shops, I mean Mum, Dad and kids all off to do the supermarket shop. Why????? If both parents are available then it surely makes more sense for them to keep all/some of the kids at home or wherever than all battle round the shops. Truely unfathomable.

Rant over

Anyway, it was the first day of getting back to what will eventauly feel like our normal routine. But a day later, bar the Tesco experince, I can’t really think what happened, other than it was ‘ one of those days’. Morning I guess involved a fair bit of washing – which with SB helping, usually involving increasingly convoluted ways of handing out the pegs or the washing etc. isn’t necessarily a quick process….., a bit of kitchen tidying, all that sort of fun stuff. mixed in with potterign and playing with the girls. SB spent ages collecting things together for picnic she wanted to have with the freebie picnic set/bag Helen got from La Redoute or Vertbaudet.

some how the time from 10 to 1 passed, I was then annoyed I’d not got out earlier, setting myself up for the Tesco debacle. When I returned H was home, I manged to set fire to the Toasted Teacakes, so only H and SB got one…….. It was a relief to get to dinner time.

A couple of BB notes – she seems to be much happier drinking from bottles being off them for two weeks, she put away about 5 oz in one go, whereas we we lucky to get more than 1 oz down before. She is really loving her baths now, she madly kicks and waves her arms about splashing madly – she has developed a really good Double Whammy kick with both legs at the same time – she loves it

Today was better. Story time at the library this morning, untaxing but SB enjoys it – not sure if it is the stories or the following craft activity she enjoys though, and BB seems to enjoy the difference, looking at the other kids etc. On our return, it was coffee and snack time, followed by time in the garden, more collecting/hanging out washing games, chasing about the lawn, bike riding, climbing frame climbing etc. BB spent much of the time sitting on the lawn. SB got an Apple (found it in her knickers apparently….??) and bit it into chunks which she gave to BB on plate, she spent ages gumming them happily.

After lunch we all sat down on the sofa togther BB to drink, me and SB to read books. Nice cuddly time, though I did find myself dozing off a few times, much to SB’s disgust ‘ Come on Daddy’, Later, SB and I found a box of her old 1-2 year old toys in the old hayloft which she wanted to show to BB. She spent ages playing with them, showing them to BB etc. while I got dinner ready and remembered when SB had them at that age. How excited we were when she built a little tower of the blocks, how she used to love trundling her little wooden block trolley around the house and go shopping for carrots, some of her early books we had read so often. Memories……

On more reflective note, I’ve got a general background level of frustration with things at the moment, hence it part yesterday and also I find that I’ve been a bit short with SB on a couple of occasions when I wouldn’t normally be. The root is I think that the house is not sorted yet.

Too much still in boxes, partly becuase the places to store it aren’t there – such as not much in the way of book shelves, no drawers for mine and Helens’ clothes (though about a billion cubic feet of fitted wardrobes…), partly becuase it just hasn’t got sorted and put away yet, so to much stuff half unpacked now around the place, on top of this we have the normal household disorganisation, and the weed are growing faster in the garden han we can keep up. . And with Helen at work now, and basically me not, I do feel like most of this is my responsibility and I don’t feel like I’m doing a very good job of it. And I’m still working on how me, SB and BB all manage to work together, though we are getting there

There is stuff we just aren’t doing enough of, such as crafty things, but also more ‘education’ type things, such as the reading, maths etc. is being missed out. Helen had quite a nice little routine for this in vague sort of way and I want to build that back up again as well as develop ideas for the future. We have many plans and ideas which are just being put on hold at the moment (including SB, who whenever we have a an old box, yoghurt pot etc. says we have to keep it to make something – she wants to make a robot apparently). Of course I could have done something about it rather than just blogging about it.

On a more positive note, Helen is now on her 4 day week, so that means she will be home tomorrow, which will be nice.