Archives: Leila

Hah – this machine would hardly work this morning (the eMate on which I type) as I’d filled it so with all my waffling. I deleted a stack (to free up the memory stack). I’ll concede I need to look at deleting some apps I don’t really need either.

On Friday last week they came to fit the new windows in our house. They took just the one day to do it. They did rather a good job. It’s all rather gratifying. I was sceptical about moving to PVC double glazing, but it has made quite a difference to the aspect of the rooms – they seem much more light & airy without the heavy coloured wood of the previous windows. The Kitchen door is rather pleasant as well. We have not done the windows in there as we are looking to change the room round before we do that – but the door is such an improvement. We decided to have a big window on the door to let in more light & it works a treat.

Been quite a good weekend. Jack’s was a bit cocky on Saturday, but we put that down to the fact that he refused to have any breakfast. By the time we were going out he’d got himself cranky (& was demanding food – but we were going out!). Got present for Leila’s birthday party – forgot most things – back home & off to the party in the pouring rain. We arrived half an hour late, but it was the best we could manage & it was to little ill effect. Jack was not keen to join in musical bumps & other party games. Whether this was because we were late or because… it’s not what he likes (not a great one for competition sometimes – he comes over shy all of a sudden) I don’t know. He was happy enough to join in hide & seek & run around like a mad thing though. I wheezed about the place a bit as i had forgotten to bring my inhaler. I’ve been more reliant on it the last week after hardly using it for ages. I have a cough. Got soaked on the way home as the rain was even worse. Paced quite well as not to get too out of breath though.

Took Jack swimming on Sunday morning. He’s starting to have lessons – this being the second now. He really, really likes going swimming. He enjoys himself to the extent where he doesn’t really listen to the instructor sometimes. I have to strain my ears to listen to what she is saying. Did backstroke & practiced getting legs straight & kicking well – which Jack managed fine. I seem to recall that I was happier swimming on my back to start with. I never was that coordinated & it’s nice & simple on yer back. That breast stroke… eesh – all those odd arm & leg movements.

Off to Leeds for the afternoon – & pottered about very easily. Pleasant bit of consumerism & then home. Yeah – that went well.

Picking Jack up from school, I was told by his teachers that he was telling them of the bad dream he had the night before – possibly even a nightmare! Difficult to say nightmare, I know that he had a disturbed sleep, but I don’t think as far disturbed as that. Nevertheless ‘disturbing’ is the right word. He says He went to Halifax (with us – more than just us, with friends) & Eve was with them. Suddenly Eve ran out into the road & there was a car coming & she was run over. I’ve tried to phrase it a little how Jack did. Then it seems it wasn’t Eve at all, Eve had painted a balloon & made it run out into the road & it was the balloon that was run over. That last bit is a bit weird. It’s either real dream logic, or embroidery on Jack’s part to save my feelings a bit. He’s quite capable of rolling with a story – he does it to me every so often. I had a whole story about ghosts at school the other week while he was in the bath. Apparently they broke a bit of Leila’s lunch box, & then it went into this whole thing about bad, naughty & good ghosts. The bad & the naughty ones messing about withy the dinner ladies’ preparation of school lunches, pouring water on things & making them soggy, & the dinner ladies putting things in bags to protect them form ghostly interference but the ghosts still managing to spoil things & the good ghosts killing the bad ghosts (but not all of them, so the bad ones come back again). All quite bizarre & delightful. Last night I was also told that an invisible person had pinched 2 oranges out of Leila’s lunch box, but returned them to the classroom.
We all went to the park after tea yesterday. Jack wanted to practice on his new bike. He’s a bit big for it, but it is a very nice bike. It was a good practice session for him, & although he fell off a few times round the bike circuit in the park, this was mainly because he was trying to ride up grassy banks & alike, so it wasn’t that surprising really. Eve was so tired after this that by bedtime she was incoherent with disagreement. Not wanting bath, not wanting bed, not wanting what she wanted. As soon as she stopped yelling about it all she was asleep.
She’s been changing of recent – a growing spurt. She’s losing the rounded belly physique of a toddler & starting to get more upright – straight up & down…. Little girl.

(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!