1.   The Elephant’s Spout

2.   Never Land

3.   Happy Feet

Son 1, aged 4y 5m, having stung us for a Power Ranger outfit, has lost interest in his sticker chart and getting stars for staying in his own bed.  I woke up Whenever, and he was on my side while I was squodged up in the middle.  Son 2 aged 17m woke yelling at 4am, so I went down and helped him back to sleep, and then slept in Son 1’s bed.  Son 1 came climbing in early… and then went into Son 2 when he heard him waking up and crying.  The Man went to him, and I stayed in bed, grimly clinging on till I HAD to get up.  Son 2 cried.  ”I’m taking Son 2 downstairs; he’s hungry,” The Man proclaimed.  Son 1 stood at the top of the landing and bellowed down:  “He’s not hungry - he just wants his Mummy!”  In the shower, Son 2 has completely perfected the art of tipping the water in the top of the Winnie The Pooh tower so it spouts out of the elephant’s trunk at the bottom.  A Christmas Present I picked up in TK MAxx.  18m+.  He has mastered it a week early.  Clearly a Gifted Child.

Son 2 and I snugged up on the double bed to get him to sleep for his morning nap - big treat - while Son 1 watched a DVD.  He chose Peter Pan, and got out the big Pirate Ship, the Lost Boys’ raft and the Indian Camp.  When he chose to wear his Power Ranger outfit to his party on Saturday, I had a mild Pang, feeling we were At Last waving bye bye to the pirates.   Here they are, back already.  We went round to Best Friend’s house for lunch and a play.  Best Friend decided he and Son 1 weren’t friends any more.  Because Son 1 never lets him be the Captain.  After lunch they finally make up and normal service was resumed.  And then Best Friend’s Little Brother put on a film.  Return to Neverland.

Back home Son 1 played pirates, Son 2 played with him.  We bought all Son 1’s pirate stuff when Son 2 was about 3 or 4 m old.  We didn’t know he’d grow up wanting to chew it or pull it to pieces or break bits off.  Nanna came round.  Son 2 played with the Thomas Wooden Railway.  I tried to watch the end of Happy Feet, but failed, and so finally watched it all the way through after the boys had gone to bed.  One of the penguins has a Couch Of Permanent Indulgence.  So do I.  This is Blog 300.  I started it as a bit of CBT - the idea being if you write down the good things that happen, you’ll train your brain off the thinking that makes you ill.  It works.  I look for moments that I like each day… and I’m also much better at dealing with other Life and Office stuff.  And, if I ever backed this up,  I’d have  nearly a year’s worth of little snapshots of the boys’ life.  I’m sure they’ll thank me for it later.

1.  Gardening

2.  Dancing

3.  Running

Son 2 aged 15m slept till 8am.  A record.  Which we expect to stand a while as Son 1 aged 4y 3m is back in Nursery tomorrow.  Oh and we’re back at work. So we have to get up early.  We went out in the garden… The Man in and out of his sheds, us clearing up leaves.  Son 2 played on the ridealong car.  Son 1 got the noughts and crosses out.  He lay across squares to stop me putting my noughts on them… and then he ran off with all my pieces.   I took lots of pictures of the boys, and may have got one or two half decent ones.  We are rubbish at pictures.  There is still not a single picture of Son 2 up in the house.  And the pictures of Son 1 stop when he’s about 2, when we bought a digital camera.  New Year’s resolution.  I will make an effort and get some printed.   

After lunch we walked to the Discount Store at the other end of The Town.  Son 1 pestered for a Ben 10 annual. I said “no,” he melted down, I removed him from the shop.  We trudged back, him Very Unhappy Indeed.  In Tesco, Happy Feet was cheap, so I bought that and we watched it when we got back.  I went down to the kitchen with Son 2 to make a stir fry… after a bit The Man came down to fry some chicken.  From upstairs came the sound of an elephant stomping.  The ceiling shook and the plates rattled.  “What was that?” asked The Man.  “I think you’ll find it was a penguin practising his tap dance,” I said.  At bathtime we asked Son 1 if he’d been dancing like the penguin.  “Yes!” he said, casting off his towel. ”I’ll show you!”  We suggested he wait till tomorrow so he didn’t get Son 2 over-excited.

The wind has changed.  Definitely a Good Thing.  We ‘re usually pretty weather-proof and Do Outdoor Stuff in a hardy, British way through rain, hail or storm.  But the Easterly has beaten us back inside all week.  I went for a run and it was Northerly.  Still cold, but crisp and fun, instead of downright unpleasant.  Oddly, the wind is no longer blowing from the East, and Wonder Nanny will be back tomorrow.  She was supposed to be on holiday, but she was probably riding ponies through pavements somewhere.