Wednesday 19 February 2014

There's nothing wrong with a bit of dumbing down, after a day of monitoring playdates and ironing, is there?
I'm sat on the sofa, eating tortilla chips, drinking cider and watching Amanda Lamb telling people how to sell houses (mostly by painting everything white, apparently).
Should I have another cider and go for broke by watching Big Fat Gypsy Weddings as well? I know, I ought to be watching the Culture Show on iplayer or listening to something obscure on 6 Music or reading that Zola short story I'm halfway through on my Kindle.
It's a perennial dilemma: chavness or pretentiousness?
Hmmm, feels like I'm often on this fence, somehow.
What would you do?

Monday 17 February 2014

I have turned into a bit of a zombie, capable of nothing but aimlessly surfing the net for things I haven't any real intention of buying (I have three Stompa high sleeper beds in my amazon basket). I may be able to gather enough energy to pop a pizza in the oven in a bit. Or then again, I might not. The problem is utter tiredness. I haven't felt this fuzzy-headed since the kids were ickle noisy screaming bundles of snot.
Why?
Last night I agreed the kids could have a sleepover in the pop up tent inside. They'd been in there about twenty minutes when Twin 1 rushed in and told me that Twin 2 had been sick. I cleaned up and sent them all off to their respective beds (Son hadn't even noticed, he was so engrossed in some improbable internal narrative, possibly involving alternate universes and wrinkles in space-time). Twin 2 then continued to vomit, at regular intervals, throughout the night. I attempted to finish the enormous ironing pile, but gave up when I got to the shirts - managed most of it, though. As a result, I'm wondering around today in a sea of wet washing and incapable of thought or speech (I know, no real change there). I've now run out of washing powder and places to hang things, and have therefore resorted to looking at expensive kids' beds, leather trousers and coral lipstick (to name but three of the useless items I have perused recently).
Right then, laptop nearly out of charge, better put the pizza in. xxx

Thursday 13 February 2014

Poor old Twin 1. She had a poorly tummy today. She felt sick. So I cancelled my classes (lovely lessons for Valentine's themed around 'The story of us' by Taylor Swift) and sent her to bed with a hot water bottle (she wanted to watch telly and do colouring in, but I insisted that if she really was ill enough to make me forfeit a day's pay then she had to do it properly and go to bed - you are definitely not allowed to have any fun if you're off sick in this house, at least, not until lunch time). The problem was that there was a year 3/4 performance of The Lion King at school this afternoon, and she had the very important job, as the third elephant, of leading in Miss Corbett's class to the hall. 'But Miss Corbett needs me,' she whimpered, teary-eyed, when I said that sick children couldn't pick and choose which bits of school to attend. Her sister was also an elephant, and it did feel a bit as if the pachyderm would be incomplete without her, so we raced to school just in time for her to rejoin the savanna. Miss Corbett looked thrilled, but Twin 1 spent the whole performance regretting her decision, and her hand-painted elephant mask was wet with tears by the end of the performance (Twin 2, by contrast, ripped her mask off, swung her ponytail and belted out those Elton John numbers with an enormous grin on her little face Genetic clones, my bottom. Nature vs nurture, go figure...).
Ah, sometimes it's tough being eight and half, I guess.

Thursday 6 February 2014

Ah, there you are! How the devil are you? My sore throat is almost better, only had to take two lots of cold relief medication today and felt well enough to fast (didn't check how many calories in the cold capsules, surely they don't count? And I'm also fairly certain that the bite l got from Twin 1s Curly Wurly was calorie free, too...)
I'm really looking forward to tomorrow, and not just because l can eat again. l have a whole day with no teaching or housework, I'm feeling better, the kids aren't sick and l'll get to spend a good four hours finally and thoroughly sorting out my heroine's psyche. Can't wait.
And I'm going to make sushi for lunch.
Blimey, my life's alright at the moment!