Archives: bradford

Well, Esme did a lot better last night – she’s slept quite soundly. On Friday to Saturday she was quite disturbed with the Chicken Pox making her uncomfortable & the fever making her too warm, and on the Saturday to Sunday she was initially being driven nutty by the itching. We gave her some Piriton in the end (should have thought of it earlier) & she was still very frustrated until the small hours & the medicine started kicking in & it all calmed down. Gave her Piriton before settling to sleep last night & she was much better for it. She came up when I was drifting off just after 11 & as she was warm she had some ibuprofen & she seems to have slept soundly most of the night. I slipped out & had some sudofed then so that I could breathe without a gaping mouth & I feel rested this morning as well. Spent yesterday with a headache & things crawling in the corner of periphery of my vision – mainly lack of sleep, with some head cold thrown in for good measure. Not half as bad as Esme’s been having; she’s been doing well really. Clingy & weepy, but she has been playing for the most part. Late afternoon yesterday she tried playing with Lilly when she came round, but had to give up & be held again. I think she was a bit annoyed that she didn’t get to go out with me that day. I’d taken Jude out to his party at Jitterbugs in Littleborough (James & Daniels’ birthday) & Eve had tagged along. Amber had gone out, so Eve had no direction & she wanted to come & was upset that I initially refused on the grounds that she wouldn’t be allowed to the party. This provoked quite a reaction (weeping & gnashing, “You don’t understand!”) so as long as she understood that there was no way she could stay at the party it was fine – I let her tag along. As it turned out we only had tome to go to the supermarket &then a café before we had to scoot back to pick up Jude. Still – it was pleasant to have her along (probably good for Louise to have her out of the way if she was going to be bored & whinging at home). & good for Eve to just be out instead of bored & frustrated. Jack was very sweet with Esme while we were out & made her a colouring book from internet printouts, but Esme was tuckered out when we got back (public transport back from Littleborough was not so good & quite expensive).

Saturday?

We had a jaunt out to Bradford, It had been previously arranged that we were going to Louise’s mum’s & meeting up with Elaine & Kyle (Louise’s sister). For…. various reasons we’ve not seen them for quite a while & I guess it all went well. Eve was chatty & friendly with Elaine & the kids behaved quite well.. We went out to the park. Jack took Jude & Eve on the boating lake (I didn’t have to do it) And they had a good little go to the playground. I was relieved to see (or rather had my underlying guilt assuaged) by the presence of another little girl who quite obviously had chicken pox. Esme’s pox are not so easily noticeable as they are mainly on her trunk, back of the neck & head – her hair covers the latter 2. You still feel a bit bad about her being about so much though; doesn’t feel wholly responsible. We were obliged though – it had been arranged – Louise’s mum expected us to be going. We were expecting to be off sooner, but before lunch (we apparently arrived late when we arrived just about exactly when we said we would) it was announced that we would have some eggs for tea? (For tea? – Oh.. OK, then).

The kids enjoyed it all – I think (probably) Eve especially as she loves the socialising & she also managed to pick up a few nicknacks. Jack & Eve even got to play around the fountains at Lister Hall for a bit (Jude got bored & wanted to go back so Jude & Esme went back to the flat with Grandma). Louise & I got to watch fascinating people who had a wedding at the Hall & a photo opportunity in the gardens – we do love people watching.

Too tired this morning. Looked at the paper half heartedly for a second & then opted for sleep.
Been updating the online waffles to bring them more up to date after the delay caused by … OSX transference & inertia.

Louise off to Bradford yesterday to visit Aunties etc with Eve & Jude. They performed admirably by accounts. Eve got some new shoes (boots) as well. They’re a little C&W, but they suit her well.

I picked up Jack from school – he was a little lacklustre. He didn’t bash me, for once …well – not until we were nearly at the gates anyway. Quite a nice change not having to dodge flying book bag & lunch box. I have got into the habit of getting them from him before he can wallop me, but I was carrying shopping yesterday.
When he got home he proclaimed that he was tired & would like to go to sleep. He played on the computer for a bit instead. I helped him for a bit & then did a smattering of tidying up before Louise got home.
Jack protested he had stomach ache in the night. I’m too sleepy to be effective then, “Go back to sleep Jack. We both need to get more sleep”. He was not that good in the morning apparently, but was keen to be off to school as it’s ‘tuck’ today & he had some Jumble for the Jumble Sale as well.
I learn these details as Louise called at work. She was supposed to be meeting someone today, but cannot as Eve had fallen asleep & Jude had just woken up & been sick on her. The kids, as a whole, seem to be off colour at the moment. I have a shopping list again.

Oh they’re my favourite trains, are those ones – the old ones than don’t even have a drop down table on the back of the seat in front for you to use & swing around on suspension springs better suited to slinkeys. Thankfully today, we have a better train.
Now, I can’t remember a jot of what’s been doing. My brain is empty this morning. I will try to tease some glimmer of though like a tortoise being tempted out of a shell with a nice bit of crisp lettuce.
The carpets are due this Friday – they are coming to fit them! Ah, that just reminds me of something else I forgot – to get call the people we want to clean the stair carpet.
Must … try…. to…. remember….
um
This will be good though as we will be able to move into the attic space even though I have not completed lots & lots of things. This is immaterial – we will be up there! Woo! I will paint strip, paint & scowl at the damp plaster that still seems to refuse to dry out. Perhaps the presence of people up there will help… I dunno. Scare it away with our contempt of it or something?

How did the weekend go? Hmmm – well at some point Jack was in angry defiance mood. I suspect this was Friday. That evening he was very mad with me for stopping his shower & we were in a stand off situation. He angry with me & me, as usual, not backing down. He’s still in the bath – sitting down & reusing to get out. This could have continued a while, but fortunately Jude was still awake & Louise needed to get something. She handed him to me & Jude smiles at Jack & Jack just melts. He loves his brother. Jack plays up for Jude & I melt. I love my kids.

We went to Bradford on Saturday. Another ‘out of the blue’ “lets go to…” from Louise. I like these – unplanned & haphazard. Can’t really recall what we did. No real impact on memory. I wonder if we did anything that might impress itself on Jack & Eve’s memories? Ah – we met one of the teaching assistants that were attending to Jack’s class on the way home. She’s nice – she has a family of her own, but she stopped for a chat with Jack. Jack likes to engage people.
Sunday – we -um- what was it?
We did a little tidying & sorting – moving a cluttered shelf of toys from the front room to the back. The front room carpet is also due a ‘replace’.
Oh – & what else we’ve gorn & done? Louise, I suspect, would not like me reporting this, as it’s our private lives – but this journal thing documents our lives (kinda). We have moved our mortgage to the (hateful*) Halifax. In doing so we keep our outgoings about the same & my personal cover is better, & we have a little money for home improvements!
(* I say this out of knee jerk on long dissipated chagrin at being manoeuvred out of a job I quite enjoyed)

Took the foolish step of deciding to put some more of my old comics online last night – so was up later with the scanner than I should have been. Not suffering too badly from it this morning.

Sunday was my weekend this week after having to work Saturday. When I got home Saturday Eve was already asleep… which is a little sad – not seeing her off to bed… Jack was still awake & pined to the window watching the fireworks. He was also very tired… not that he’d admit such a thing. He was gibbering somewhat though. They had had a good day over at grandma’s by accounts – & had a nice time in Manningham Park – near to where she lives. The council seems to be putting some money into the park & it sounds to be very nice there now (I’ve seen the renovated boating lake & they did a nice job there). They have drained a water feature stream, which leads to a waterfall into the lake, it seems, & Jack was most put out by that. It seems there’s another stream running at the moment (this gets confusing as it’s what Jack was telling me – consequently not that clear) & Jack seems to have got it into his head from somewhere that they will not be starting the old stream up again. I said I could not see why, but he was most insistent that they would not be. What evidence there is for this belief, I don’t know… but I can’t see then ridding themselves of a waterfall feature by the lake… seems a bit extreme. Nevertheless, I tried to persuade Jack in this delirious state of his that there was no reason to mourn the loss of the stream as yet – they might be doing clearing, repairing, or whatever… but no – he insisted on taking the doomful view that all was lost.
He then proceeded to tell me several time the meaning of bonfire night was fireworks, but I don’t seems to recall him coming up with a reason for fireworks, other that it being bonfire night. Louise came back with the best one there, saying that it meant it was early November. A lot shorter than my foolish attempts to explain such daft abstracts as ‘gunpowder, treason, & plot’ while avoiding anything as gruesome as effigy burning & sectarian war. sigh.

Sunday would have been a better day if Jack had not taken it into his head that he would be what we would call ‘naughty’ in the evening. Trying to annoy us – I guess to get our attention. I of course fell for it & got mad at him. I find it difficult to react other than how I … uh… react. I’m not good at masking my annoyance. Still, it all calmed down enough in the end. I do not know what to make of these situations – I feel like homer simpson.

3:00 pm

Back from work – sitting in the dentist’s waiting room wondering if everyone else is here? Jack has an appointment at 3 – or was it just before 3? Whatever, they are not in the waiting room & the receptionists has not answered the “Ring once & wait” bell – so all I can assume is that they are in there, & Jack is having his teeth looked at…
Naturally I am now hypersensitive to my own teeth – as the smell & general aura of the dentists must always make you. Not been for far too long – I really should etc, etc.
Bother… I am getting itchy that they are not even here now – I cannot hear enough behind the door to tell, but I certainly would expect to hear something from either Jack or Eve… Darn the receptionist…
Hey ho.
The day passed rather quickly today – so much so that I realised I had missed the boat in terms of actually getting anything done… (In terms of ‘personal work’)
What a bother.
At least my brother wrote with his address, so I can get his pressie off to him at last. I worry now that I have bought him a repeat present… Did I get him that book last year? Uh, oh! That makes one more “we shall see”.

Half hour later…

Ah.. That’s OK – sitting around proved the right thing to do – I was early! I thought Jack’s appointment was at 3:00, whereas it was 3:20 – so Louise arrived with the kids a little bit ago & I have been left in reception on my own again looking after the pushchair… I would rather have gone with them but I guess that I need to look after the pushchair.