Feeling a little blank this morning, but will try to type.

Weekend? Not much doing. Eve went out swimming with Amber, leaving us one down, so we popped out to Hebden Bridge. Jack got a glass chess/backgammon set from a charity shop.

Jude is high on ‘habitual’ behaviour; his asthma might be troubling him (I know mine bothers me a little at the moment). Sunday… I didn’t have much time, did I? I don’t recall that I had free time, but then playing football with Jude etc; just being available seems to take time. On the whole an easy weekend.

Esme annoyed Lilly’s dad (Gary) by arguing with her over at their house; being petty by the sounds of it. She blurted it out at bedtime that she was told she couldn’t come over again & Louise was shocked & Esme cried (she loves playing with Lilly). It may have been a threat to get her to behave, which she probably didn’t do – she’s cocky & picks up Jude’s bad habits of stubbornness & defiance; afraid of nothing has its downside. We’ll see.

Can you get a hangover from eating chocolate cake?

Perhaps not…

Been a difficult week of rail travel. Missing the ‘usual’ train this week has resulted in some considerable standing around on a chilly platform as the ‘turnaround’ has been absent this week, & the ‘next train’ is 45 minutes after the ‘usual’. And it gets more crowded – especially with a lack of ‘turnaround’. I had to stand all the way yesterday, which is unheard of.

There was some difficulty getting in out of the house yesterday; I was having to fix batteries & find things & tidy up & – well – it was Eve’s birthday & they were up early & they were all excited. Eve & Jude were awake before I was down for my shower, but I chivvied them back to bed where I had to remind them to be quiet, I had to remind them to be quiet, I had to remind them to be quiet, I had to remind them to be quiet (such is the toll that excitement takes on their sensibility). Hmmm – actually – when those to become as thick as thieves, the barriers of insensibility become shattered… We’ve had a very wet bathroom when they’ve been in the bath together…

So – I managed to get them to stay abed while I got some breakfast & pop the humane mouse trap outside for collection later. Naturally when I went to rouse Louise, Esme was awake, so there’s no point in denying Eve & Jude further & their desire for ‘presents’ could be satiated (if it is possible to satiate such a desire in children… I suspect not). A lot of noise & joy (& some tears fro Jude because he doesn’t have as much as Eve etc, etc)… They are happy for the most part – they are chaotic & noisy & I’m surprised tat they didn’t wake Jack (but then he’s used to sleeping through the noise they make at weekends). Eve was very happy with her lot.

Work: I’m going through the monthly invoice run at the moment as Paul is ill.

Left work early … hm – when I say early, what I actually mean is that I left at the time I would normally leave, but I normally leave late… OK – I left at the time that my non-existent contract would dictate that I left, which is an hour earlier than I actually (usually) leave.

Picked up a few needful things (balloons, candles, Go-gos) in town before returning home to a house with Just Louise (what a luxury, but no time). Louise’s mum had gone to pick up Esme, but we had to be there to get the others (including Amber who was coming back with us as well). Louise’s mu returned without Esme & Lilly before we set out (Lilly & Amber’s mum brought them back in their car). After telling Louise’s mum that the front door was open 3 times & then telling her again when we left the house while looking at her so that she ‘heard’ us, she went across the road to see if the others were back & whether Lilly & Esme wanted to come over to ours (where there were balloons) Louise & I set off down to school. Jude was out quite quickly & in good mood (especially with the distraction of a packet of Gogos to placate his math that he had less than such-&-such). Eve took longer. We had reports of her handing out chocolates from Mrs – her class has her lot & she’d handed one to & Mrs Ledbitter & Mr …but she was still not out. We went in to find her & she wasn’t in the cloakroom, not in the classroom not in the hall… Hmmm… Caught her further afield by the girls’ loos as apparently Amber had got changed into her party gear.

Home for the party. A little more present opening & excitement & a lot of dashing about. I quickly did up a ‘pass the parcel. Jude did the music & wasn’t allowed to look & Amber won the prize n the end. A few histrionics from Esme who was one of the last ones to get an ‘unwrapping’ of the present.

Jack arrived at some point, staggered through the door & aimed a flop onto the chaise-longue (swimming & a 2 mile cross country took its toll).

All I all it went very well though. Much happiness, lots of shrieking & just a few gripes & grumbles.

Well, we’ve had better weekends. In the end I ended up taking Jack, Jude & Esme to Burnley on the Saturday. It was planned that we all go to Huddersfield & Jack was none too impressed at a bus journey, but it was too late I the day for the train. Louise blamed herself & ended up staying home in case Eve returned from play with Amber (she didn’t). Sunday was better; got some sorting out done, Took Eve & Esme out shopping to Morrisons & met Amber there, (with her mum & dad & Lilly) so popped to the Cafe with Amber (released from her parents charge to walk home with Eve & I). No problems having to worry about it not being fair that Esme would be put out about not having Lilly because she was soud asleep. I got Esme a scone at the Cafe in case she woke up, but as usual it was not until outside that the cold air roused her from slumber, so she got to eat it on the way home (which evidently cheered her up).

Jack is still swamped by homework. It was all we could do to nag hi into completing what he did over the weekend & we’re trying to work on him to apply himself better to sorting it out. I thing a wall chart is the next thing; something that allows for us to have things set out in an easy to see format that needs to e transcribed from his jotter. We shouldn’t get nasty surprises line ‘page 18 of your science to be handed in Monday’ (read last night from his jotter at 22:00 last night. You could see Jack’s face drop). He doesn’t have science on Mondays but his form teacher is his science teacher…

Tuesday – was too jiggered yesterday too type.

Long weekend though – that was good. I met Louise & the kids in Halifax on the Thursday; stayed on he train & went to Sainsburys to pick them all up & then homeward bound. Not greatly interesting for me, but the kids were happy (well – maybe Jack was a little sanguine because he hasn’t so keen on being out as the rest. I think the reason for it all was that Jude wanted a pencil case, but that was probably the prerequisite that Louise required to be heading out with them.

So – why was I off on the Friday? There was a Halloween do on the backstreet that we were supposed to e preparing for Now, the real preparation here wasn’t settling decorations or anything of that nature. Because there was a possibility of adults roaming into our house we needed to have a general tidy. Not really reason enough for to be taking a day off… no… Well – OK – the real reason for taking a day off was that it was half term & the kids were home & Louise asked me to take the day off: that’s all I need as a reason. Fact is though; I mainly did tidying up.

I found that the vacuum cleaner (DC08) I got from the market had no filters at all which set off my asthma a little as it bumped up the stairs & shook some dusk out into it’s ‘air out’. That was not so clever & I ordered a new filter off ebay. It’s not only me though – it’s Jude as well – it caused him a few wheezy days as well which was a shame. He had been all geared up for Halloween wanting face paint etc, but when it came to dressing up he decided it better to play & then get in the bath & into his pyjamas… It was only Debra (neighbour) popping in to try to extricate her twins (Gabe & Jules – a little older than Esme) from the wooden train track set out in the back room & commenting to Jude that he was missing the fun & encouraging him out that made him change back out of his pyjamas & into civvies (not halloweenies) & join in with everyone.

As a whole the party went well. Eve was first to be dressed up as she had Evie’s Halloween birthday party to attend before the ‘street’ party.

While she was away we brought down the enormous box that had arrived the other day from Hazel – what could it be? There were 4 smaller ‘Cadbury’s’ labelled boxes for the kids. This was handed out & they were ripped open & contained a Halloween bucket filled with backs of Halloween themed animal biscuits & a pack of Halloweeny marshmallows. Jude & Esme started tucking into the biscuits straight away & were keen to be going out to to trick or treat, but it was too early.

This was only stalled until Jack joined in, getting his Skeleton costume on & wanting to head out with his bucket, egged on by a desperate Esme. So as it was starting to get dark we let them out to some of the neighbours.

Louise & the kids came to meet me from work on Monday, which was nice.

There was some humming & ha-ing during the day as to whether they would make it because Jude was resistant at one point & the rest of them had dashed out to play with others at some other point, so Louise was wondering whether their professing that they all wanted to go was less based on reality than the idea. But when Jude had a bath he was more amenable & the kids must have been reasonably easy to round up, so I met them getting off the train at Victoria; everyone in buoyant mood.

1st stop Cafe, then some shops – the kids picking up treats for themselves while Louise searches for clothes & so forth. I suppose TK Max is about as close as we can get to a department store nowadays; the kids can be distracted n one area while Louise is able to get a bit of shopping done; she found Eve a lovely new coat.

I didn’t get to look for new shoes (ah well) & I did have to make rather more trips to the toilets with one or other of them than I though was really necessary (but they were needed) but all in all it went very well indeed.

At work, Lee is back from Japan & has tales to tell & photos to show, so I’m slower than I should be, but it’s not just me – so that’s good.