Archives: jack

Watching the clouds this morning on the station platform. 
Mainly blue sky, with a smattering of mackerel clouds (scientific
names lost years ago).  When I looked out of the window as I
got up this morning, there was mist lurking up the valley. 
This had mostly dissipated when I set off for work.  There
were wisps of misty  cloud in the sky & I was watching it
turn so slowly into mackerel.
Shame, but it seems that the days are noticeably starting to
shrink… sigh.  Waking in the morning, & the sun is only
just starting to make it’s presence felt.  Never really knew
when sunrise was supposed to be, but it was light enough to see
everything, but dull enough indoors to warrant a light being put on
to accompany breakfast.  A light also has to be put on for
reading if the kids are slightly late off to bed at the moment as
well.
This morning waiting at the station, crisp cold air & warm
sunlight.  I don’t think I’m ready to relinquish this year
yet.
Busy weekend. 2 days off due to working the Saturday, but at least
Bank Holiday made up the day!
Started Sunday business quite early.  Caroline, our
neighbour, was making a start on her side of our hedge. 
Panged by the guilt that I had not yet managed to get the half of
our side done all year (looking a distinctly afro-privet) &
started on that.  Also, it spurred Jack into getting dressed
to come out & join me (there are time when he just does not
want to get out of his pajamas).  Jack enjoyed himself
helping.  Even got to have a few goes with the electric hedge
trimmer.  It was held by me at all times though.  All
done – took a bit longer than intended, but all done. 
Caroline took the trimmings off to the town dump for us as well –
which was very good of her.  She is very good to us like that
though.
Up to the attic next (with Jack helping again).  Cleared out
the dust & debris from one of the attic eaves.  A job
started previously, but not finished.  Eve stayed downstairs
with Louise pottering between Louise &  the garden.. 
Not such a good day for Louise, as she had intended to get out –
that we go to Hebden Bridge or something, but as the hedge had
already taken longer than intended, it seemed off.  I think
this disappointed her a little; as have had a long working week
just previous, she has also.  She was looking forward to
getting out from the usual routine, & there was me trapping her
for another day.
Jack ultimately got bored of my cleaning in the attic, as there
was not that much that he could do.  I reached the limit of
what I could move back under the eaves as well.  We were all
very grubby; Eve as well, as Louise & Eve came up & 
joined us after Jack went downstairs to complain how boring it all
was.
All got clean again & I went out to the garden again &
Jack helped to cut the grass.  He got the hang of the hover
mower quite well, even figuring out the safety button to press
before the ‘on’ handle would activate.  Tidied up the grass
& edges & did a little weeding, by which time, it was tea
time.  Lawks!  Mind you – it’s amazing how much tidier
the garden looks now.  A little bit of a sense of achievement
as I never usually manage such a concentration of work.  Also
aching limbs the next day.  I hope Jack doesn’t expect that I
do such every weekend now!
Monday – shopping in Leeds – a few things bought for Jack’s
forthcoming school days & I managed to sneak in a trip to the
comic shop & popped into a record shop & got Lorimer’s 1st single. All
went smoothly enough, although Jack seems a little fragile
yesterday & did not take disappointment or frustration very
well.  Signs were there when he was getting tearful that his
trains were not joining together like they should.

Nice & lazy day thus far. Up earlier that I would have liked,
but then we have kids, so this is normal. I was grumpy at actually
having to be awake though… Ah, well.
It’s the Caption convention weekend & when we woke (even
earlier) yesterday we played with the idea of just hopping on a
train & going, but no; it was just play.
We did set out for a different location yesterday: Skipton. Never
been there before, possibly as it’s just outside West Yorkshire,
& thus travel there, although not much further than many places
we venture, is that little more expensive. Curious, as a town it
reminded me quite a bit of Wells, in Somerset. House & streets
seem familiar in aspect, if not layout. We had a very pleasant walk
on a wall between the castle moat & river that feeds it. It
leads up to the wood there, which seems a popular walk, but is
closed at the moment due to ‘Foot & Mouth’. Actually, that’s
the 1st time it’s had a direct affect on something we do. Not sure
if we would have ventured on anyway, as walking in woods with a
pushchair does not seem an ideal way of getting about. It was
closed to protect the deer in the woods.
Having been mildly disappointed by a curtailed walk we opted to
bite the bullet & actually pay to go into the castle itself.
The kids loved it – may steps to go up & down & rooms to
run around in. As there were no ornaments & foolish nic-nacs on
display there was no damage they could do, so apart from stopping
them doing patently foolish things, they were free to do what they
wanted, which they loved.
Jack was asking this morning if we could go again today. As there
was no chance today, he asked whether next week…
Have no aims today, perhaps a little tidying in the attic later.
Hamish, Amber, Jack & Eve are playing on the backstreet at the
moment, & as Jack has not realised I am typing I have got away
with it. I stop now though.

One day on & weekend!
Yesterday all went to plan, excepting that everything took a lot
more waiting around than the last time Louise went. That was a
little boring. Still, it was very nice to wake, on a weekday, after
7:30. Sometimes at a weekend, such a time is a rarity.
Louise, Eve & i caught the bus to Burley in good time. Jack
& his Grandma had already set off for a day out in Shibden
Park. Jack won the debate on whether to go via train or bus to
Halifax.
Last time Louise had a scan she says that there was hardly anyone
else about. Yesterday was a bit crowded. They had a lot of people
to get through, but still insisted on not being hurried,
consequently, as mentioned, everything took a good while. Eve was
very good. Probably enjoying the novelty of not having to compete
with Jack for attention. We did not get a snapshot of the scan this
time, but it was good to see the little thing wriggling in Louise’s
tum. Eve was a bit quite when we all trooped into the darkened room
& Louise got onto a bench to have the scan… but that could
have been due to the curious circumstances she found herself in.
Over all too quick & off to another waiting room so that Louise
can see the midwife & get the results of the blood test from
the previous visit. Fortunately there’s a creche room off that
waiting room, so Eve & I spent our time there… which was
quite the longest wait we’ve had to put up with visiting that
place. Eventually Louise had her 10 mins with the midwife. She had
a very good iron count, which was a relief. They usually put her on
awful iron pills which ‘does wonders for’ her digestion. Curiously
it when the recent stomach bug was mentioned, the reation was, “Oh,
that one that you think has gone away, but comes back again?” So,
they’ve had a few people with it. Enough to be as common place as
to be given that description. It make you wonder how common this
‘bug’ is on a wider regional/national level.
Shop, cafe, home. Jack & his Grandma having just beaten us
home, but not by that much fortunately.
All in all very pleasant. A bit of a cursive version of events
from me there, but bugger it.
Louise did some baking in the evening. Some very nice ‘everything
in’ muffins (they taste yummy). Her cousin Michelle is dropping in
for a visit. She also has 2 kids, both born within a month of ours.
It’s been a good while since they last got together – so long so,
that I don’t think Eve & her youngest have met. I think it’s
likely that I will miss it all though, as I cannot see everyone
still being there by the time I get home.

Louise reports that Jack was in a better mood all day yesterday. He
woke up with a giggle, mainly as he & Eve were in the same bed
together & woke about the same time. Eve’s fist words were,
“Daddy gone work!” & she got out of bed & trotted down the
landing.
Thunderstorms woke him this morning at 5:10. Quite dramatic
rumblings, & as the windows are a little open overnight, so the
sound of pouring rain was quite loud as well. He drifted off to
sleep again, which surprised me a little as he does find storms
exciting, but woke again just as I was about to leave for work. I
left him downstairs watching “The Hoobs” & he was worried about
me going, advising that I should not in case it storms again. Well,
looks like I might get wet on my arrival at Manchester this morning
at this rate, but I may get lucky.
Eve stirred before I got out of bed this morning. She did not wake
or anything, but she was disturbed by her tum which let out a
surprisingly loud growl of hunger for one so small.
How’s your stomach this morning Paul? …Not quite right, but not
really wrong. Seems caution is the byword.
A day off work tomorrow! Quite a relief really, as it’s been a tad
busy of recent. Louise is due her 2nd ante natal scan. Jack is due
to stay at home with Louise’s mum & Eve, Louise & me are
off to the hospital. I have a nagging feeling that it may end up
that we all go, which would be bad for Louise’s nerves, & thus
blood pressure – which she will be aware they will be measuring,
& will be worried about & thus her blood pressure will be
higher etc.
I look forward to following Eve round the corridors of the
hospital as she explores what it is all about, as I did with Jack
when Eve was being scanned. Louise might frown at me again for
being a ‘silly daddy’.

Sigh… My stomach still remains my main obsession. After feeling
so cocky & confident I over did it with Louise’s rather
splendid mushroom & quorn risotto last night & ended up
with a dicky tum. Not a painful one, thankfully, but certainly an
uncomfortable one; the lingering of which still nags.
Jack was in a ‘push it to the limits’ mood last night – going out
of his way to do things that would be annoying. What seemed to work
was picking him up & plonking down on the sofa. He was crying
& protesting at not being allowed to be doing whatever it was
he was doing, but I was keeping him there for a minute &
speaking to him asking why he was being so silly & telling him
the reason that he could not move for a moment was because he was
being so silly. Seemed to actually work as he conceded a little,
then a hug & then a little attention & he instigated an
‘eye spy’ game as he lay atop me. For a good hour or so he was good
as gold, but miscreant behaviour started to exhibit again before
bedtime.
Basically he was over tired. He gets like that when he is over
tired, but why he was so, is another thing. He has not had any
disturbed sleep of recent (he lets us know if he is awake). He
could be off colour… I don’t think it will be the stomach bug as
he is eating ok at the moment & is exhibiting no discomfort in
his tum. If he was feeling under the weather it does explain his
fragile fractious nature.
A neighbour returning from hols commented that I looked like I had
been ill to Louise, yesterday. I protest! She would have known I
have been under the weather & just made an associative jump.
She also told Louise that she knew of someone who has had the same
bug as ourselves. Aha! At last evidence that there is a bug going
round. Until recently although Louise had heard someone tell there
was a bug going round, but none of the other mothers at playgroups
& soon actually knew of anyone else who was afflicted. The
neighbour also mentioned that this other person said that there was
a name of the bug – not unidentified as the Dr I saw hinted. It
would be nice to have a name for it, but then, as with the
infection that I had last year that knocked me down for a week of
so, the name was told to me but by the time the sentence was
finished it had evaporated from my brain.

After Friday’s final fling of being held to ransom by my tum, it
seems I finally have shaken this bug. Although still cautious in
what I eat, I have had no real return to pain. Louise is still
suffering a bit – yesterday even say another bout of discomfort for
her, but hopefully she will also be better too… phew! She is
worried that the kids may have/get it, but it is really difficult
to say. Eve for instance was off her food, doing more poohs &
slightly more irrational yesterday – but whether she has this
stomach bug or what is impossible to say. She was off food etc
about 5 days before I came down ill as well. She being only 21
months, it’s hard to be definitive about anything she might be
feeling. She has started bad habits though. Biting her fingernails
& picking/biting her toe nails. It’s when she’s exited &
being read to, & there’s no other outlet for this energy that
she has to get out (supposition). She & Jack have also started
what can only be described as brawling. Hitting in general is
instigated by her, but usually at aggravation at having something
she is playing with taken from her or Jack crowding in too close.
She stands up & bats hi on the head. Reasonably harmless most
of the time, but enough excuse for Jack to retaliate if he is also
feeling aggrieved. She will also do it when she has something in
her hand as well – which can actually hurt him. He might respond
by, well, basically flopping over her & pinning her to the
floor, tickling her or some such… which she giggled about. Hardly
a recipe for stopping her doing that… Hey ho. There is also a
crawl over Eve game he like to play. Again flopping/crawling over
her. Yesterday evening they both decided to be cats saying (Eve
Shouting as her volume control is not subtle) “Meeow”. Both on
hands & knees crawling along, except Jack crawls over the top
of her. It can then develop into a rough & tumble. To be honest
there seems little that you can do especially when both are
laughing, except try to voice our displeasure/annoyance at this
sort of activity. Sigh… it’s all part of growing up. Being the
younger brother in my family it’s something that niggles if I think
about it too much.
Miserable rainy day yesterday. I did not get out, but curiously I
did end up doing the decorating in our (to be the kids) room. The
kids were there as well, & apart from the ‘no, don’t touch
that’ factor Jack was very very good with the whole experience.
Wanted to help, but managed to restrain himself from ‘helping’. Eve
rumpled some pasted wallpaper that was to be hanged as she passed
the pasting table. She had no idea that that would be/was any
problem, & I was just thankful that she got no paste on
herself. Looking at my handiwork later I was not that impressed.
Looked like I managed to miss a fair few air bubbles, but on the
whole, it’s a damn site better than some of the wallpapering we
inherited with the house & if I’m lucky a lot of it will calm
down when it’s dried properly. Still got more walls to do & we
really do need to get the room sorted, so I will have to buckle
down & not worry about every blemish an the wall that needs
smoothing. Just make sure it’s sound & get it finished!
My – it is nice to feel normal again. I did not get what I would
consider to be my full sleep last night, but I still feel better
than I have for a good long time.

Louise’s visit to the doctors confirmed, as thought, that she has
the same as be. As she is more on the ball that me, she got some
advice regarding what is good or bad to eat. The main one to avoid
is fat – it seems, but a bit of added sugar is good as it gives the
bug something to … oh… I forget – something to do or something
to attach to? Whatever. Live yogurt is classed as good… oooh…
all right then.
Poor Louise has had a couple of very bad nights in a row. Not
sure, but I don’t think last night was as bad as the previous. The
main problem with sleeping is actually getting comfortable as the
pain is a bit all consuming (esp at night) & very constant.
Trying to get into a comfortable position is impossible, & you
need to be at least getting comfortable to sleep, as a rule.
Being tired & hungry has the effect of making you a bit more
irritable as well. This has not worked well for Jack as he has been
taking disappointment very badly this weekend. Granted, he is
likely to have been tired over the weekend – late to bed &
early to rise on Friday to Saturday. He has gone in or shouting
& crying at seemingly inconsequential things. You have to
remind yourself, at 4, these things are not inconsequential – they
are “not fair”. Going down to the cycle track at the park, only to
find that as you get there, the skies open. Shelter for half &
hour or so & as the rain dies down we head back home instead
(as there are things to be doing) of playing with the promise of
coming back tomorrow. Jack did not like that. He created for a lot
of the walk home. We did go the next day. If we say we will do
something we will.
One of the real annoyances of this bug is not being able to eat
what you want to. No fat means – shock horror – no chocolate or
crisps for me! Such a staple of my daily indulgence snatched away
from me. Fat holds so many foodstuffs together.. sigh. Taste is
limited. Fortunately :) chocolate milk seems to be universally made
with skimmed milk – joy! On the whole, I am certainly getting
better. I’ve taken a packed lunch to work with me, although not my
normal one, & my stomach does complain, but not to the extent
it seemed to do previously. Mind you, I am being a lot more
cautious about what I eat. I’m not sure when my diet will return to
normal. For instance, I have not dared have a hot drink in 7 days.
I must be effectively decaffinating my body – such a strange
thought. All this sounds outrageously healthy, whereas it is
anything but.
Homeward bound. Called Louise to see how she was doing today. She
sounded a bit jiggered. Lack of sleep & lack of food takes its
toll. Jack, as usual, wanted to say hello, so I had a quick word,
which ran something like:
“Hello Paul”
“Hiya Jack”
“… I love you Paul”
[aaaawwww :) ] “I love you too, Jack”
“I wish you did not have to go to work”
[aaaaawwwwww] “…Mmmm, so do I”
“Hang on a minute” [Jack drops the phone – there a little
confusion he says something else & eventually I ask to speak to
‘mummy’ (I gotta get back to work & too long on the phone at
work would be frowned on) & Louise comes back on the phone to
say goodbye]
Kids, eh? Have a habit of cutting to the core
sometimes…

Bad news – Louise has also fallen prey to the stomach bug I now
have. At least she knows to avoid eating solids, so should not
encounter any more ‘stomach cramps’. In a way, she was lucky that
she 1st got it in the afternoon (was suffering bad when I got home
yesterday) as it subsided enough to let her still have a reasonable
night’s sleep.
Led to an odd evening last night. Eve was tired, as she had not
managed to get a sleep during the day. She eventually was tipped
into total upset by a very slight thing; Jack attempting to coax
her indoors from the back yard as it was starting to rain. Floods
of hysterical tears & she wanted only “mummeee”. Eventually she
fell asleep (most likely with a sob) on the sofa, curled up with
Louise. Louise took to bed upstairs as she was not well – & I
attempted to move the sleeping Eve into her cot upstairs. Jack was
a little too willing to help, & she woke up – thus went into
our bed with Louise. This left Jack & I on our own. I made his
tea – just teacake with melted cheese (my… the thought of cheese
even now is infuriating, as I can mentally taste it – but fear
reprisal from my stomach for eating it). He scoffed a lot. He
chattered a lot, I was lazy enough to try to veg in front of the
telly news, but got roped into playing with Lego (duplo) bricks
& building towers. Louise came back downstairs & we popped
out late to get some supplies from the shop. He went in the
pushchair as he was a little tired & it would have been a bit
much carrying bottles of drink & him on my shoulders. As having
a bath would have disturbed Eve he just got changed him into ‘jamas
when he got back & read to him for a bit downstairs. As he was
showing little sigh of actually going to sleep (it’s just that
little bit exiting being read to downstairs) I took him upstairs to
his room & he was off to sleep with 10 minutes reading up
there. Aw…
Hmmm this morning’s train has either a foolhardy driver or the
brakes are not working properly. He is consistently overshooting
the platform. The conductor has to announce that people wishing to
depart the train go to the rear of the train. To add to farcical
flavour of this morning’s journey the conductor periodically
announces that his ticket machine is not working, & thus to buy
tickets from “the appropriate booking office”. So we have seen
nothing of him this morning either.

Homeward: Been shopping in town & have a bag loads of
groceries. Impulse buy today has been Tabasco sauce in anticipation
of eating again. Food is starting to be tempting, but the fear of
pain wins out. I am looking forward to feeling better. Lucozade
& chocolate milk are losing their appeal.
Louise will have been to the doctors as well with this stomach
complaint. Perhaps she might have gleamed more information as to
what it might be? Perhaps not though, as the doctor I saw is noted
for being basically up front. It would be nice to have some sort of
‘life cycle’ for it though… sigh… knowing my luck “as long as
it takes” & I do not feel confident that my health is back to
itself.
Bother.
Have the kids had it? It’s difficult to tell… we hope so, as we
wouldn’t want them to be afflicted by it. As previously said, Eve
had a couple of bad days last week, & Jack was off his food in
general for a few days before that as well. Such things could also
be interpreted as the usual run of events with kids. They don’t
really understand feeling ill so much at that age & just get on
with things for the most part (albeit grumpily). If you were to ask
Jack if he was feeling alright at the moment, he would say that he
has a stomach ache, but this is purely out of empathy for Louise
& I.

(Workward train)
Well, that didn’t work yesterday. The Ricicles I had for breakfast
had vengeance & caused considerable pain. I lasted until @
10:30 before I concluded that work just was not … working, &
left for home. Got an appointment at the doctors & found that
there is in fact a bug doing the rounds in town & I am yet
another victim. No real mention of what it actually is, but stay
off solids, drink frequently & have some paracetamol &
another tablet to keep stomach acid down… sigh.

(Homeward train)
Hmmm thinking about it, I seem to have 30 days worth of
prescription… I sincerely hope that this is precautionary. I
would rather not live on fluids only for a month!
So, there is no other diagnosis than ‘bug’. You have to wonder
from where you’ve caught it. Well – the kids were off food for a
period last week & Eve had a particularly bad day last Thursday
(Louise confirms that as the day she did rather a lot of nappys).
They are better now, I am on day 4. So did I catch it from them…?
I dunno really. I’m inclined to think not. The lads in the office
are not enthused by the thought I have a ‘bug’. Cotangent? Who
knows… heh – well, we’ll find out, I guess. If everyone else if
off, then that might force some reappraisal of the staffing levels
we currently suffer work under.
Today’s been one of those days – as we have ceased an old phone
number – where I constantly put the phone down & immediately
pick it up & also every so often have my ear chewed by an irate
customer. sigh.
As I managed to get home early yesterday & Louise was out with
the kids for a bit, I managed to get some time for potentially
useful things – which I filled with sleeping. I had terrible
gut-rot remember? When Louise got back I was a little surprised to
see that she had no Jack. This was a relief really as I was as well
not having him there to crawl over me. When Eve woke she did her
best at that, but was not so difficult (or heavy) as Jack in that
respect. I was able to loll on the sofa for the most part.
Jack had gone off with Leila & her mum & dad) for the day.
Leila lives a fair bit further from the centre of town than we do
& was apparently missing the lack of social activity from
school. When Jack came back he was happy & Leila said that she
did not want him to go (aw!). All was amicable tho on leaving – no
protestations & Leila’s mum said that Jack had been as good as
gold.
The kids have had haircuts recently by the way. Eve has had her
1st haircut – which was really just a fringe trim. She needed it
really as her fringe was forever getting in her eyes. Having a
straight fringe is odd though. It changes the aspect of her face a
little. She is still a pretty little thing, but her mischeviousness
is even more evident. It shines through those grins of her even
more.
Being off in the afternoon also gave me leave to read the
newspaper. There were articles on child safety & parental
supervision. There has recently been a court case in the UK where
the parents of a girl who was killed (with her friend) playing on a
railway were found guilty of her manslaughter due to ‘gross
negligence’. This has sparked a few articles hand wringing on the
subject. It makes you more paranoid. At the moment Jack is enjoying
a certain amount of freedom on his bike. Just round the back street
& cul-de-sac where we live, but nonetheless he is not visible
to us at all times. He is usually with the other kids who are on
their hols at the moment – most of which are older than he (up to
at least 9 years for one of the girls, I guess). They seem to look
after each other well, but occasionally Jack will come back crying
(usually as he has fallen over). The thing is, you ask yourself,
“Am I supervising him enough?”. Well, no in that you do not now
exactly where he is (but you do basically) & yes in that you
are assured he is basically safe. It would be foolish to be
‘spying’ on him all the time as the other kids (& he) would
resent the intrusion, but kids are kids – so the compromise has to
be to just ensure you eyeball him every so often to ensure that you
know what’s going on. The balance between freedom &
responsibility – eek!

Going to work. I have found myself a lot tetchier in the mornings. There can be no other explanation other than… work is annoying me. No one likes work, but I manage on the whole to keep myself detached from that side of thinking. Unfortunately I definitely seem to be forming the opinion that I do not like it. There is too much stress at the moment & it takes up too much of my thinking: 2 things it is not supposed to do.
Jack is on ‘summer hols’ at the moment. He asked Louise the other day when he could go back to school. He’s a social beastie is Jack, & he gets a lot out of it all at the moment. He was doing just afternoons before, when he returns he will be in official ‘reception’ class, & spending the whole day there. Quite a different arrangement: school, proper, even. It’s a very odd concept for a parent, let alone the child. What will Eve make of it all?
They have been playing very well together, with Jack being very good with his wild little sibling. He helped her up the stairs the other day. …Well, it’s not like she cannot do it herself, but they went up together, Jack with a protective arm held up behind her.
I wish to be home more, but life won’t let it happen (at least, not at the moment; hope may be refuge of fools, but I never said I was anything but.)