DITL - Life in 2012

DITL - Life in 2012

Thursday, 2 August 2012

It's been a long time since I posted a DITL so I thought I would, if for no other reason than to compare and contrast with life before we were four.

The day starts with me being rudely awakened. Not by a dustman (90s reference there), or an alarm clock, but by my daughter farting. This is also the way she wakes herself up and is the cue for me to peer over the pillows at a madly grinning baby. Apparently there is no minimum age for fart gags.

It is also my cue to drag my sorry backside out of bed and take her down to the toilet before she makes good on her promises.

How we ended up potty training an 8 month old is one to ask my husband, but it is actually really nice to have decimated the number of stinky nappies and the need for multiple wardrobe changes.

Once I have taken Emmie off the toilet and dumped her on her dad to wake him up with her patented speed-of-a-cobra-bitch-slap it is time for tea.

I love these mugs, and when I brought them home Alfie pointed to the pictures and called the leaf "Dadda" and the lemon "Mamma". I was impressed with his anthropomorphic instincts because while I agree with him, I'm still playing spot the difference to work out exactly what about them picks them out as gender specific.

Armed with caffeine, Keith and I stumble our way through a breakfast where the toddler taunts the baby, the baby employs speed-of-a-cobra-food-swipe and then toddler howls and demands food/ spoon/ drink to be returned. I took many photos of this, none of them in focus.

By now my two hour window has about 15 minutes left to get dressed and put on some makeup.

The last few days has been a mad rush because the others have been off out to do even more fun things than normal. Today they were trying to get out of the house to head to the Olympic cycling when I headed off to deal with the rigors of my daily commute.

Painful isn't it?

I usually make pretty good time but this week the roads have been deserted. All good because I've needed those few extra minutes at work each day to catch my breath. I've started a new role recently- new to the company as well as me - and while it's exciting to have a chance to do something new, it melts my poor little brain.

The office helps ease the brain melt - look how purdy! The blinds were closed today but when it's sunny I can look up and see blue sky.

This also helps.

The catering manager has a penchant for retro sweets. I buy treats for the boys and just an FYI to doting relatives, Alfie is big time in love with popping candy. Slightly concerning that he likes to explore the boundaries and would gladly tip an entire sachet into his mouth so please feel free not to buy him any kind of chemistry set that will teach him how to make himself, his sister or the dog foam or explode. Cheers.

End of the day and I'm off on an errand. Keith has recently decided that buggies are the deyvil's work, so we are trying out slinging both kids on days out. We took my home made Mei Tai to Greenwich on Sunday and it worked well for Alfie, not s'much for Keith who really felt the lack of padding. So in a bid to show him what a proper sling maker can do, Helen agreed to lend me one for this weekend.

While I am visting it seems a shame not to grab a cuppa and catch up. I can't believe how much the kids have grown up since I last saw them!! I totally lose track of time until I realise that the rest of the family are probably already home so I jump in the car and raced home.

The new tradition in the house is that I walk through the door to be met with an overexcited toddler and a flapping baby. The call of choice is "HIYA!" which is echoed back to me by Alfie along with a similar sounding squawk from Emmie.

I dive straight into cooking shredded pork curry and lemon rice with Keith. We somehow manage to discuss the recipe, catch up on the Olympics and juggle the baby without so much as a knife nick or minor burn.

While the rice is cooking and the curry simmering I sweep the kitchen floor. How is it even possible for a dog to cause so much mess when he spends the whole day sleeping? In another room!

By the time I have corralled the dust bunnies onto the dustpan it was time for grub, bath and bed.

Keith does the shower and I do the bed, reading "The Smartest Giant in Town" and looking at the full moon rising.

And I think that rounds off the day nicely.