Looked after, family, and getting better.

1) I’ve been unwell over the last few days – “just a virus”, but it’s left me pretty weak and exhausted, and suffering from brain fog.  And, of course, this is the week when K is away the whole week with work.

This morning, I was woken by A and M bringing me a beautiful Get Well Soon card that they had made together when they woke up. I was then instructed to stay in bed, where breakfast was brought to me. Then they told me that they would walk to school on their own, so that I didn’t have to leave the house. How awesome are they?  I’m just so incredibly proud of them both 🙂 .

2) Mum and Dad picked up the kids after school and took them to their house, and they were delivered home to me after dinner by my brother. Thank you all very much!

2) After another day of doing not very much (but I did finish knitting my mystery knitting project shawl – it’s being blocked now!), by evening I realise that I have slightly more energy than I did earlier. I’m cautiously optimistic that I’m turning the corner and am on the mend…

Mandarin, good friends, and time flies.

1) With sponsorship from the Confucius Institute, M’s class have been learning to speak some Mandarin. They will also be performing a couple of songs at a concert in a couple of weeks time.

The other morning I discovered that M has obviously teaching A some of the words – as they got ready for school, I had the joy of listening to the pair of them singing together in Mandarin!

2) Friends came to visit last night. It was lovely to catch up and spend time together, but even more because they know us well, and love us anyway. Neither of us were feeling completely well and we both found ourselves struggling to concentrate, but it was all okay 🙂 .

3) I really wasn’t looking forward to going bag-packing today, but we needed all hands on deck and, as Chair of the committee, I felt compelled to lead by example. I was pleased to discover that the experience wasn’t as bad as I expected, and the time flew by!!

Shopping with Dad, home, and well done!

1) Today was my annual Christmas shopping date with my Dad. We had a really nice morning, browsing and buying, and then ended with a lovely lunch out.

2) To be home, warm and dry and out of the rain. We snuggled down, and enjoyed a cosy afternoon.

3) A arrived home from his Scouts party, held at a local LaserQuest. Not only had his team won, but he’d come third overall. Given he’s the youngest there, he was reallly proud of himself (and us of him!).

Photocopier, helpful, and sleep-walker

1) To find out that the photocopier was able to copy both sides, and had a stapling function – before I started creating the eighty-two four page, double-sided booklets!

2) A has been exceptionally helpful today – not just doing his regular chores, but noticing other things which need to be done, and just quietly doing them. Very proud of my boy 🙂 .

3) As I was writing, a small purple (yes, she’s moved on from pink!) person appeared in the doorway. Not a word did she speak, just stumbled across the room, curled up on my lap, and cuddled in. We had a nice cuddle, and now Daddy has carried her back to bed.

Back, new project, and independence.

1) The restoration of some semblance of routine and normality this week, and to find I finally have some time to myself.

2) Choosing yarn for a new project, one that I’ve been requested to knit. I’ve been imagining how lovely the new project will be (such a gorgeous colour and texture!), and now I can’t wait for the yarn to arrive now so that I can cast on and get started 🙂 .

3) A was off school today (thankfully he seems to be on the mend now), so M had to take a bit more responsibility as I couldn’t walk her home from school as normal – “I can walk all the way home on my own if you want, Mummy”. I didn’t feel that today was the day to ask that of her, but I did ask her to walk to just beyond her friend’s house.

At home time, I parked the car just beyond the house, and could watch M and her friend walking towards me from a distance. They appeared to have a lovely time chatting and I was able to watch her observe the road rules perfectly, without her knowing I was watching. She loved that little bit of independence, and I’m proud that she proved herself worthy of my trust in her 🙂 .

Quieted, good use of time, and cast on.

1) This morning I was visited by (amongst others) by a very small fractious boy. Cuddled in his mummy’s arms, he eventually succumbed to sleep.  When he awoke, he was a much happier baby!

2) I was doing Parent Help this afternoon, and had several jobs to do. Frustratingly, for a time, I was stopped on all the tasks the teacher had asked me to do. Then I realised that I could put the time to good use, and completed a task of my own (photocopying flyers for the Christmas Fayre!). By the time that was done, the people I needed to talk to had returned, and I was able to complete all the teacher’s tasks too 🙂 .

3) To finally cast-on for a wee project for my boy – he asked me to knit him a cover for his mobile phone 🙂 .

Long walk, second run, and dinner.

1) A long walk in the autumn sunshine – all golds and greens, and clear blue skies.

2) A and I went for our second run – he was really keen to go, even though it was harder today – it was windy and cold. But it was good, and we’re both apreciating the time to chat.

3) A crisp toad-in-the-hole, made from left-over sausages barbequed in the summer and frozen.

Re-stock, socks, and flowers.

1) To go shopping and re-stock the fridge and the cupboards. And the supermarket have restocked A’s favourite smoothies, so he’s going to be a happy boy at lunch tomorrow 🙂 .

2) That moment when the thin patch on your socks suddenly wears through and a huge hole appears while you’re walking… I treated myself to some new socks today – the ones I have on are pretty: black with thin stripes of silver, grey and purple. More importantly, they are warm and comfortable, and only have the holes they are meant to have.

3) Deep red velvety roses, accompanied by fairy-like freesias.

Special breakfast, social, and winners!

1) We had “special breakfast” this morning for the first time in ages. A veritable feast of freshly-cooked hot waffles, crispy bacon, and maple syrup. The perfect start to the day!

2) An afternoon with the youth group… making pizzas, and then playing games – remember the “chocolate game”? Roll a six, dress up in scarf, hat and gloves, then use a knife and fork to cut a bar of chocolate and eat it square by square…  That one. And many more :-). Awesome fun.

3) The team from 1st Polmont Boy’s Brigade won the Falkirk and District Battalion Junior Section Spiritual Trophy this afternoon…  my boy was part of that team. I’m a very proud mum today 🙂 .

IMG_1905Aidan and the trophy!

Morning, more time, and extra hour.

1) A morning to myself – I got all sorts of things done, and ticked off the list.

2) After lunch we went to the new Helix Park. While K and M went for a rollerblade session together, A and I went for a run. Afterwards, A said that he hoped we would do this regularly – that this way he gets to spend more time with me 🙂 .

3) The prospect of going to bed knowing that, as the clocks go back tonight, we’ll get a whole extra hour in bed tomorrow morning 🙂 .