1. Punch
2. Pizzazz
3. Yahoo
Boy oh boy. I am still struggling to get up each morning. When I get the boys up there is fruit for pre-breakfast snacks, to get started on their five-a-day while they’re still hungry. I dress them. And I sit with Son 2 aged 22m to read five books - chosen by him, of course. We are very Child Led in our house. This will Develop His Understanding And Vocabulary. It must take place with no distractions or diversions (ie Son 1 aged 4y 10m) so Son 2 is Focused. Sticker Books are only allowed in the morning. as they are too exciting before bed. Trips to the window seat to watch the bin men or recycling lorry are allowed, but only if he comes straight back after. If I stay in bed, all three of them sit in the lounge in their pyjamas and watch telly till I get up. This morning I managed to heave myself up and Son 2 and I did our books. Then we went upstairs where Son 1 was watching Aladdin. I was in a mad rush, but the Genie had just been let out of the lamp and I cannot resist him. We all danced. I’m In The Mood To Help You Dude.
I ticked off some things from the To Do list. Booked hall for Son 1 and Son 2’s joint birthday party. That’s a Load Off. Mmm. That may have been Jack Nicholson, not Robin Williams. So I now have a hall and a Party Leader. All I need now is a bouncy castle and we’re rocking. I flew around The Town and got presents and cards for The Man’s birthday. And a couple of cheap DVDs from HMV for me. I bought a birthday card for Wonder Nanny’s Other Family’s Mother, who’s having a party tomorrow that we can’t get to because we were already booked. I sent an email back to The Boy Who Broke My Heart, who sent me one yesterday. Regular readers will know he had to phone me, http://mumsnet.com/blogs/serenedays/2009/07/19/visitors/ in a very strange collision of our separate, parallel worlds. We are going to have coffee next time I am in the Teeming Metropolis. Not. At least not until I’m the size 12 I was in 1983.
And I got out for a run. Unrelated to the last line of 2. It was, AT LAST, a lovely evening. The Man had planned drinks with a work colleague, so I went out for a quick jog after the boys went to sleep. I ran through The Town, past the Different Coloured Houses Sitting By The Sea, to Rockpool Beach. Really lovely. Very warm, and the tide was in, so I ran along the lower sea wall as the tips of the waves touched it. The horizon was miles and miles away, the sea was blue and flat, the air felt crisp and clear. Coming back I heard a cry of “Serenedays!” It was a very young colleague from The Office, freshly shaved, in a very clean, pressed shirt, on his way out to celebrate a friend’s birthday. He thought they would all end up in the Town’s Dodgy Nightclub. I liked The Town’s early evening atmosphere. Families out… father and sons, matching builds and faces, walking shoulder to shoulder, eating chips from paper… big dock visitors in large, overwashed black tee shirts and thick jeans, smart ladies of a certain age escorted by husbands in chinos and pastel polo shirts… lippy teenagers “Keep running!” and girls in clothes I couldn’t dream of wearing… I’m very glad I went out.
Tags: Aladdin, birthday party, Different Coloured Houses, ex-boyfriend, HMV, learning to talk, oversleeping, reading, receptive language, Rockpool Beach, running, The Town
