C - Chicken pox

I am writing this one mainly because Google was utterly useless when I first suspected it may be Pox. Plus, Fireman Sam, Postman Pat and Hollywood in general lead you up the wrong path! Usually on TV, the child goes to bed fine and wakes up covered in evenly spread spots... Usually before a beauty competition, school play or the day they are set to fly on holiday. In reality - slightly less dramatic I'm afraid.

This is how it happened in our house - Google will tell you it doesn't always start the same way (helpful!)

He had a temperature
He felt unwell
He said he had pins and needles in his head (which by the way terrified me!)
The next morning he seemed a lot better
He was still slightly warm
I kept him off school
He had one small spot on the bridge of his nose
By the evening he had about 4 or 5 on his torso
If you weren't looking you may have missed them
They looked NOTHING like the spots on Google images
People asked "Do they look blistery? DO they have a head on them?
They didn't
In the morning they did
And tiny red pin prick sized spots were starting to appear else where on his body
Up until this point he hadn't itched once
I had itched non stop
In total he got about 8 "pox" spots
The pin prick sized spots faded to nothing
I kept him off all week
He was perfectly well
I was knackered
His eight spots blistered
They SLOWLY crusted over
His brothers got the warning symptoms but NO spots
His auntie got the warning symptoms and spots, even though she definitely had it has a child
We considered it to be a chicken pox conspiracy


So for those of you who are trying to self diagnose on Google - step away from the Internet, you will find no answers there. Put the phone down, your parents can't help you they don't remember ANYTHING!

Just sit and wait and itch.

T - Thomas the Tank Engine

Thomas played an important part in my eldest's pre-school years.

He loved him.

Wholeheartedly.

He took him everywhere.

We have the photos to prove it...

Thomas on a sledge

Thomas in the bath



Thomas doing the Limbo

Thomas at Thomas Land

In fact, he appears in that many photos he could have his own album.

But then, out of the blue, after they aired Disney's Cars on the BBC one Christmas, it all changed...

Whenever I watch Toy Story I think that is how Thomas must have felt when Lightening McQueen came to our House. One day, Thomas fell from his hand, the tracks started collecting dust, his favourite colour changed from Blue to Red and no longer did we hear "Peep Peep" echo through the house.

And for us, the Grown ups, a wealth of knowledge was suddenly out of use. We had memorised ALL the Engine's names, knew the Sodor songs like nursery rhymes, watched every feature film at least 20 times, bought every piece of Thomas merchandise... and for what? For a red, American racing car to come in and steal the limelight. My sister took it the hardest. She still can't find a nice word to say about Mr. McQueen.

But hope was not last, there was always his brother. Our Thomas knowledge would not be wasted, the toys would be played with once more. For two long years he showed barely a flicker of interest, then the other week. BOOM! Thomas love.

Check out the first picture I managed to get with the three of them together (or should I say 4?)



Look who's back!

And look at the baby's face! Smitten at 3 months! Yay!

S- School Run

This is how it goes:

- Take 45 minutes to get myself and three children washed and dressed (without  make up or nice hair)
- Settle baby in buggy
- Ask if anyone needs the toilet
- Put coats, gloves, scarves, hats etc on at door
- Eldest child: "need a poo"
- Eldest child strips from the waist down
- Commentary on poo (inc size, colour and wiping)
- Middle child wakes baby
- Re-dress eldest child whilst jiggling buggy
- Leave house with three children
- Remember about dinner money/ PE kit/water bottle/homework/ridiculous random item needed for that day e.g. egg box or something less specific like "an item in the shape of a cylinder"
- Leave children in front garden and return to house
- Retrieve forgotten item
- Separate children fighting over pushing the buggy
- Retrieve buggy from the middle of the street
- Wipe a snotty nose
- Take a deep breath
- SET OFF!
- Eldest child points out huge dog turd
- Remark in OTT loud voice about how disgraceful some dog owners are
- Passing dog walker brandishes a poo in a see though orange bag in my direction
- Middle/Eldest child falls over
- Wipe tears and a snotty nose
- Chase middle child around a stranger's front garden, apologise to house owner, straighten unearthed flower bed  (x 3)
- Pretend to be scared witless by eldest child jumping from behind wall
- Stop and admire his favourite tree with middle child
- Force middle child onto buggy board
- Ignore middle child's tantrum
- Wipe  a snotty nose
- Explain to eldest child that I am also tired but also have to walk
-Reach main road and run along side of middle child who won't go on buggy board and has a fascination with the noise of the traffic
- Get off main road and swallow heart back down
- Reach pelican crossing, eldest child has tantrum about not being able to press button
- Wipe a snotty nose
- Hold on to middle child's hood till we here the peeps
- Cross the road
- Tell eldest child to run ahead, in case they're closing the doors.
- Chase middle around school outhouse
- Smile at some smartly dressed Mum holding hands of daughter with perfect pigtails
- Get blanked
-Carry middle child under one arm, pushing buggy with other, to classroom door
- Hang coat on peg
- Hand in homework/dinner money/mystery random object
- Say the longest-goodbye-known-to-man to eldest child (Romeo and Juliet departed quicker)
-  Stop middle child writing on the interactive whiteboard
- Remove middle child, who is sat crossed legs and sitting smartly amongst the class, from the class room
- Wipe a snotty nose
- Take a deep breath
- SET OFF HOME!

Every single day!