Archives: paul

Got a redelivery of an item we picked up from Ikea the other day last night… A storage box bench thing… The last one was damaged – a split along a wood grain. I eagerly set about putting the newer one together only to find that the side panels supplied were both for the same side… so it didn’t fit together at all! I sat there glaring at it resentfully for a while – moaned to Louise about it – & put it away again. Need to call Ikea again to arrange for another swap delivery… sigh.

Yesterday evening Jack & Eve created an ‘installation’ on our stairs. He begged some blue-tack & stuck up cards, letters & leaflets up the stairway walls. Oh, & pegged a book to the door handle at the bottom. All quite decorative really, so we left it.

Louise & Jack have made the house jolly tidy during the holidays. Jack likes to be cleaning & tidying. Sometimes he gets the wrong end of the stick with tidying & makes more mess… but it’s all a game to him really – one which might involve making a bridge from his to Eve’s bed with their duvets.

Jack is now less apt to complain – more relaxed & …well, happier again. We think the nits must have been driving him to distraction a bit. It’s kinda fortuitous that this was all detected during the half term hols as he would most likely have been forced to stay away anyway.

I am going to have to make a start on getting the attic decorated soon. There’s still a lot to do, but I’ve been luxuriating in the lack of direction that I’ve allowed myself after completing the kid’s room… Oh – & playing with Ikea flat pack jigsaws. Hmmm… I still have not found my drill so that I can put the blind up in the back room…

Ah, I’ll do something this evening… honest!

My hair stinks. I rather hoped washing it this morning would cure it, but I am very aware that it still stinks. We got ‘the cure’ for the nits yesterday. A bunch of little bottles; the contents of which needed to be rubbed into dry hair – so we did. It took Louise long enough to get it as well – she went down to the health centre & then off to the pharmacist who needed proof that nits were present. No nit combs though… they gave her a leaflet though – had plenty of them. Louise had to go home to use our comb to extricate another & we all went down to the pharmacist again when I got home.

Bottles of potion collected we took a diversion to the park for half an hour or so – pushing Jack on the swings, spinning on the roundabout & watching Eve cope with climbing the slide & positioning herself to come down (she sits before she has her legs in position, so she has to pull her legs round from under her… not a trick she will be able to do as she gets older – flexibility of toddlers).

Jack is reluctant to play out at the moment. It could be that he is afraid of midges – he already associates the nit biting with midges… something we need to dispel – midges fly head lice can do nothing but crawl. Louise suspects that there is something else troubling him about playing out at the moment though – perhaps some of the bigger kids have scared him… It’s so difficult to tell, really. It’s like he wants the assurance, when he does play out, of being on home ground. It does make you think that there’s a motive that he is not wholly telling about his reluctance to play out. Parents worry.

That morning fatigue descends. I’ve got to the station with time to spare & it’s just this journey to work now before my body has to react again. It’s trying to tempt my brain to sleep… but I will persist in exercising my hands to type…

We did the expedition to Ikea on Saturday. The kids had been up foolishly early the past few days, so it was on Saturday – granting us the chance to set off early. We were at the station for the 8:19 – which arrived at 8:30 & were on our way. Got to the shop at 10:00ish. The shelves we were looking at in the catalogue proved to be a bit naff in real life – so we opted for the trusty expandable units that they do. Got the beds for the kids – well – a proper mattress for Jack for now, & a ‘storage bench’ type thing. Basically, all that we went there for. Was not too stressful, as getting there that little bit early we were just ahead of the wave of busy that hits the place. We did get caught up in that after a spell in the restaurant, which all got a bit claustrophobic, so by the time it got to the place where all the knick-nacks are at the end, we were ready to flee – thus missing a couple of sundry items we would have searched for otherwise. Ah, well. Journey home again. I had Eve on the back carrier, & was OK with it until the end of the day where it seemed to be starting to get heavier & heavier. Eve really enjoys it in there though. She’s only really been in it once before & that was as good while ago, but she remembered it when it was brought out & was stamping with excitement to get in. All in all the kids did very well. Jack fell asleep a couple of times when travelling, but Eve, who had been late off yesterday, just kept going & going. By the end of the day she was a bit manic & fragile though.

On the Sunday the furniture arrived. Have a few boxes still to do, but the main one – their beds – is sorted. Eve’s bed was the only task I was set to do, really. Jack was very interested in helping & hijacked one of the alum keys to ensure my cooperation in allowing his assistance. He can be quite helpful, but at one point I decided that the mangled phillips screwdriver I have needed replacing. This meant stopping what we were doing & popping to the Sunday market to get one from one of the stalls there. Now, Jack is still not the right way out at the moment. He is getting frustrated & annoyed at us when we tell him we & thus he is going to do something. As with us all he wants a say in how things should be done. Unfortunately for him, the options we sometimes offer are not what he wants – like the other day when we were moving the bedrooms about & he wanted Jessie to come & play – but he did not want to go out to play with him. This time we needed to go out – me to get the screwdriver & Louise needed to go for a shop – supermarket – provisions – no milk in the house! Jack was not too keen – to put it mildly & was I was stupidly determined that he should go. So, Jack & I get mad at each other. I get really mad, but you cannot take these things out on your children. I did put him outside the back door in the rain without a coat, as I was heartily sick of his going on. Was a bit spiteful & Louise soon rescued him from getting wet. I stormed off – as it was the best option. I would have only continued to rage in the house. I went to get my stupid screwdriver. Louise caught me up later when I had just finished mulling between the stalls as to which one actually looked like it might last more than 5 minutes. Had a chat with our neighbour Andy while I was there as he is staring up a new recycling business thing. Must try to find his website to put a ling here as he has some swanky stuff.

Anyway – after the weekly shop & cafe – where Jack was very good! We went home to finish off the bed. Eve fell asleep which left Jack & I to complete it in relative pace (no extra person climbing over things).

Later that day he was complaining of the itches getting in again. ‘Itches’ are the midge flies that attack you on the evening in the garden around here. Right annoying they is. Nasty thought occurred – we had a warning letter from the school the other day about head lice! As we had been given a lice comb I went & dug it out & gave him a comb… uh,oh… what’s that?

It looks like Jack has the dreaded blighters. A quick heck of the rest of the family looks like Louise & Eve had one or 2 & I have scalp debris & fluff, but nothing, as yet. Poor Jack – they must have been a torment… & of course it’s not over… we have to be rid of them proper – any eggs & all! Gah!

Eve’s hair is very fine – the comb teeth seem too large for her, but she gets knots in her hair from sleeping. Jack & Louise share similar hair – although Louise’s is denser & thicker. Jack needed a good ol’ combing & I did so until I could find no more. In the process he fell asleep on my lap, so we put him to bed in his new bed & he slept quite well. For the 1st time in few days he was still asleep at the time I set off to work.

Now then… have you itched your head reading that? ‘Itches’ – there’s a thing that catches psychologically…

Feel guilt about Jack being so upset & me getting mad at him for all the performance & all that yesterday… sigh…

What can you do? He wants everybody so much at the moment. He dashed back to the window when Louise’s mum went home yesterday – knelt on the windowsill to see her disappearing down the street & it upset him – just a little cry before tea. He just wants everyone to be there all the time. An ambition that he will never realise, & an emotional break he is going to have to learn to deal with.

Louise was feeling guilty as well. She thought that they were going to have to go to the dentists yesterday. Jack had an appointment, but the days got mixed up & he had already missed it. From gearing him up to going, he suddenly wasn’t – so there was no being picked up from school early to go to the dentists for Jack, & she had to tell him that. He must have taken it reasonably well, but when at school it sounds like he just mooched off to play with the jigsaws in the class on his own. Must have been quite forlorn as Louise said that it upset her that he was plainly unhappy.

It also struck how restrictive the play is at school. At the moment it’s all letters & little else. There’s none of the creative freedom of a playgroup where you had a lot more choice over what you could do & there was just painting for the sake of painting & playing (sandpit – water etc) for the joy of playing. This is how it is with school though. I guess… & will continue to be. I guess you realise how young they are all over again.

Moved the kids into their ‘new’ bedroom last night & squeezed ourselves into the old. Our bed actually fitted, which was a relief. It all got a bit fraught though as one of Jacks friends – Jessie – who lives on the adjacent street came by, & wanted to come in just as we were moving things. Jack wanted him to come in, but we said no. We said that he could go out to play if he wanted, but he didn’t want to… thus a standoff of momentous proportions began. He drove us absolutely nutty shouting through windows for Jessie & Jessie hung around quite a lot in the belief that he might actually get into the house. No chance – if we were moving furniture, we did not want the grief of ensuring someone else’s kid gets into no bother. All very fraught, & demoralising. Jack was persistent beyond belief. He made Louise cry & thus distress Eve greatly as well. He made me really mad when Louise had had to just get away from him – he still persisted. He cried until he made himself sick. I was so mad that my response was to put him in the bath – silly boy

Still – they are in the new room now…

Weird… I actually finished our/to be the kid’s room last night. The walls are all now painted – 2 walls pistachio & 2 walls varnished lining paper. I might get a couple of days rest while I recoup & maybe sort out a few bits & bobs; reviews & alike.

We should be able to sleep back upstairs again. Louise & I have had to resort to the sofa bed, as it’s been a bit smelly. The kids have not been too put out by this – perhaps a little confused, but they liked ligging on it in the mornings before it got put away.

Do I have a sense of triumph at having finished the room? No, not really; more bemusement. The kids could be in there in a couple of weeks as we are now plotting an expedition to Ikea so that we can get them a bed each. Not sure what other furniture we might need, but we cannot plan for too much at the moment. We will move into their small room while I sort out the decorating of the attic room. A setback up there is the fact that we have leak around the chimney breast again. With all the heavy downpours we’ve had recently a seriously damp patch has appeared. The builders have been called again to have another look at things, but we worry. Louise was talking of having the pot removed & roofed over, but how would that leave us if we wanted to put a fire in? I would like that option to remain. Not that I want a ‘real’ fire – having tended some in my time their a bother in a world of convenience. I do not have the patience to fret over keeping something going & cleaned out like some flipping pet. A mechanical (pet fire) which you switch on & off with gas would be my ideal there. Time may come.

Eve has been a little manic now & then recently. Canniness are still teething. They’ve both been a little over tired of recent due to disrupted sleep – Eve through her teething & Jack as he’s woke a little earlier than he should. They’ve coped well with it though – not really grumpy or anything & still playing together quite well. Jack did get a bit frustrated with his trains last night though, as they would not stay together in a, …uh, train. They are a set not designed for uneven carpets – so they keep coming apart – which makes him howl with frustration.

Eve’s language continues to develop & amuse. Not a good example of her language skills, but; as she woke from her afternoon nap yesterday, she pleaded, “Tooaaasssttt” – to which Louise asked if she would like her to do some toast? “No, crisps!”. Sigh.

Um… Not sure what this is… Looks a bit like a crab?

A one day weekend… hrumph.

Mind you I did manage to get a lot crammed in on the Sunday. Played with Jack on the Internet & found Spot the Dog in the morning. Louise, Jack & Eve went off to a birthday party in the afternoon & I got on with painting a wall in our/to be their bedroom. I managed the whole wall, although I had my doubts when I was still doing fiddly bits (around the window, behind the radiator with three-quarters of an hour to go. Paint turned out to be too smelly in the room itself, but generally not too bad. The paint was not fully dry, I guess – so Louise & I had to sleep on the sofa bed downstairs. It took me a while to figure out how to get comfortable enough to get to drifting off. Jack was possibly bemused in the night to find an empty bedroom. May go through the whole thing again tonight – as I might try to paint another wall as well.

Getting home late on Saturday was weird. I don’t think I’ve ever been that late home. I guess it doesn’t help when the planned train is cancelled, but that was only a matter of half an hour. Louise & the kids had a good day, by reports. They met Louise’s mum & her sister (Louise’s aunt) in Hebden & had a good pottering day. Louise says that she was not going to let anything worry her & managed it. The kids were delightful, holding Alice’s hand & so on. Charming & loving. They had a good time at the party on Saturday as well. Louise says that Eve was especially extrovert. They all played pass the parcel & suchlike. We came home whistles blaring & still with the excitement of party in the kids. They were a little boisterous & tired: wanting the cake & chocolate left in their party bags. Got a little frayed & made a bit of a mess. We opted for an early bath for them & Jack was asleep before the 2nd Roger Hargreeves Timbuctoo book was properly started. Mind you, so was I.

On the way to work… sigh.

Didn’t want to leave this morning, wanted to stay with the family… but c’est la.

Got a letter from the ‘useless plumbers‘
demanding payment for the callout that they attended late & did nothing even
tho they knew what the problem was as we told then’ again. Makes me indignant
(flambé), but it looks like we may have to pay the useless prannets. We
were not on the ball enough to take the initiative – which makes it all the more
galling. Bah.
It has been abnormally warm for the past couple of days. Been fun playing out with the kids on an evening. We were out as the sun descended yesterday & Jack & I watched stars emerging. We also say bats… Most I’ve ever seen of them. May have been just the one, as we only saw the one at a time, but it flew around a sodium street light & then flitted to one further down the backstreet. Quite exciting! I have only ever seen them flit past the window before, so sustained watching was real novelty. Could also just about hear it – a very high pitched chirrup. I suspect Jack could hear them better – but it’s pleasing to note I haven’t blasted by ears listening to loud music.

Grr – that useless plumber letter still wrangles.

hmm

Dear useless fuckwits

Thank you for your letter dated 12/10/01 regarding our non-payment of scandalously charges. We feel that such a fee is inconsistent with the services provided. As we pointed out in our previous letter dated (look up the date) we had informed you of what we perceived to problem to be & your operative still did not have the wherewithal to turn up with any parts that may be useful to correct the problem. In fact he did not turn up with much wherewithal at all; possibly still being drunk from the previous night (complaining of a hangover). He proceeded to take a dim view of everything & sawed through floorboards to get to the source of the problem, possibly due to the fact he could not think of how to lift them without causing damage. He seemed moderately surprised of the problem, even though it was what we suspected on his arrival. He informed us he had no parts for the job even though we had informed yourselves what we suspected the problem was on our initial calls & possibly to the operative himself when, after stating in all day waiting for him he called us late afternoon to inform us that he could attend possibly at 21:00 hrs – when our young children would actually be asleep. His general unpreparedness & reluctance to deal with the problem in general left us with no confidence in your services & left us with no alternative but to go without water until out usual plumber returned from holiday.

Your incompetence put us at inconvenience, which is our general grievance in your insistence that we pay. The amount you suggest is also outrageous, but as we understand that you would take remedial action & charge us even more should we decline, against our better judgement — here’s the dosh you money grabbing bastards.

Yours, with the fondest wishes that you fall of the face of the Earth,

Paul

Wankers.