Early evening: One handed typing holding Jude. The kids are round at Andy /Hamish/Amber’s; they came round to ask if they wanted to come round… Eve was keen – Jack reluctant at 1st but won round. Jude with Louise now as he wanted a feed.
How have the kids adapted to the ‘new family dynamic’… Hmmm. Well, I’ve been at home this week in an attempt to ease the transition, so the picture gets a little blurred.
The kids came back as I wrote the last sentence. It’s now 9:30 & Jack went to bed at least an hour ago & he’s still not settled down to sleep. It’s usually my task to do this, but every time he thought I might be dropping off, (something I often do) he would make to get up. After messing about with this for sometime, I confronted him asking why he was doing this? He said that he wanted to go to our room as the bed was more comfortable, so I disagreed, but let him slink off anyway. He didn’t go to our room as I suspected he might but nipped off downstairs to see Louise. Fortunately Jude is snoozing (& parping) in his perambulator. Louise has just taken Jack upstairs for a wee (which is probably the reason he could not settle – but that would not be admitted/understood). I sit at the table typing (there’s a thing, these words you read have to come from somewhere, do they not?)
Hey ho – I guess this is an example of Jack’s reaction to Jude’s arrival. He is unsettled. He is also unsettled as his pal William is leaving school next week for Spain. William’s mum said that when they asked him what he would miss about Todmoden, he said, “Jack Schroeder”. They seem very good friends. William has been invited to tea next Thursday – we will have a ‘party’ tea. Pizza, jelly, ice cream & all that malarkey. I feel for Jack a bit as I moved schools every so often when I was a kid & I remember crying in bed for what seemed like hours at the realisation I would never see my friends again. I find it hard to put together my school years sometimes & the others that populated it, I put this down to such things.
Eve seems a little unsettled these last couple of nights. Before Jude arrived she was sleeping very well, & through the night quite often. For 2 night running she has awoken inconsolable & needing Louise badly – so I have had to take her to our bedroom. She has also coincidentally managed to increase the volume of her crying to quite an ear piercing scream… yes, I guess she has learnt to ‘scream’ properly. She has always been loud. Jack’s behaviour is the most erratic. He does not cope with change that well, & although he has been very loving & careful with Jude he has had frustration that he has had to get out of his system somehow. There are other examples, but yesterday was the one that made me mad. He started throwing everything from the back room into the front room, creating an almighty mess. I cannot recall what started it all, (most likely being told that he could not do something) but he became very angry & we were unable to reason with him. Louise advised me not to react, but i should have started to tidy up or something, as his continuing belligerent behaviour (starting to tidy up, but putting Eve’s toys into a bin bag) wound me up until I lost my temper with him – which served no purpose other than making everyone in the house unhappy.