Tuesday 10 November 2009

Today is an oatmeal day

Pearl did not sleep last night. Well, she did sleep but it was incredibly fractured and interrupted by bursts of crying and lots of writhing around and having milk and coughing and more crying and strange whimpering and it just went on and on and on. Usually if we have a night like that, I try to keep the following day fairly laid back. I usually try to keep the following day laid back because if she's tired and I'm tired, we're both grumpy and irritable and I thought that it worked best if we didn't have any pressing arrangements to attend to. Today was the exception to that, and much to my surprise it actually works far better if we just keep on keeping on. First thing this morning was all tense and there was lots of whining over breakfast, so I decided that we needed to get out of the house, so we left bright and early to go to our Tuesday morning toddler group. I wore Pearl in the Moby Wrap there and back. It's our sling of choice, we've tried others along the way but this has been our true lifesaver, I have no idea how I would have coped without it. I feel like that closeness helped us both to get out of our cranky-tired moods. It's like wearing her resets our relationship, cancels out any bad mood vibes and it honestly calms me right down.

She ran around like a crazy little imp at toddler group, climbing everything and exploring and playing alongside her friends (occasionally getting walloped by another child, or pushing somebody else over if they dared to get on the slide before her!). On the way back she fell asleep. I stopped off in the mini Tesco to get some bits for lunch and dinner, she stayed asleep. When we got home I put away most of the bits, then decided to screw the housework and just take advantage of my sleeping babe, so I sat down and watched some daytime TV. I got to sit down for almost 2 whole hours! In total she slept for 2 and a half hours. Pearl hardly ever sleeps for that long at a time, even at night, so it was a real treat for her and me. She woke up super refreshed and I felt like I was more ready to continue auditioning for the role of 'world's best mummy'. We ate lunch and then set about doing some errands. Usually on a Tuesday afternoon I do a cleaning job, but I ended up only being able to do half of it because our quick errands turned into getting caught up in queues in the Town Hall and subsequently in the bank.

We came back and I prepared and roasted vegetables as quickly as our puny little oven would allow. Pearl was getting all antsy and tired and hungry, so I decided we'd make some fruity flapjack while we waited for our dinner. She loves baking! She helped me pour out the oats and measuring the ingredients, and stirring the oil and sugar, and mixing it all together, and lining the baking tin. While I put it in the oven and then boiled some spaghetti to go with the veggies, she decided to sample the delights of cat biscuits, from their bowl on the floor. Apparently they don't taste half bad. They even taste better than roasted squash, which she refused to eat once we finally got to the dining table.

I love how she eats spaghetti, all slurpy and with both hands, shovelling and mouth warped and frantic, and all over the place and then that final satisfied 'smack' as she sucks the last bit into her mouth. We finished dinner, and she found a piece of Cadbury's finger on the floor that she'd discarded after lunch. I asked her if she was tired, and she signed yes, so we put on our nunights winding down music. After we'd read a few of her favourite books, she asked for a massage so I obliged - it is so nice seeing her little face with that blissful smile. I wish I had somebody to give me a full body massage every evening! Quick change into a night-time nappy and pyjamas, she is ready for bed. We wave goodnight to everything on our way to the bedroom: music, toys, sofa, bathroom, cats, kitchen. We gather Mickey and Minnie Mouse and her bedtime duck, lay down on our bed and 20 minutes later she's got a tummy of milk and is absolutely fast asleep. I zip up her sleeping bag and creep out of the room.

I just ate a huge chunk of the flapjack we made and it is damn tasty! It's not just oats, it's got my favourite seeds in it - pumpkin, sunflower, linseed, as well as chopped almonds and dried apricots and cranberries. Sooo gooey and amazingly more-ish. I'm hoping Pearl gets better sleep tonight, not just for my own selfish purposes, but because it can't be nice for her to feel so tired all day long either. Bobby is working late tonight so I'ma go grab the rest of the box of chocolate fingers and our sofa blanket, and watch this programme about why we talk. Tomorrow it all begins again. Although I guess it never really ends!

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