366 Week 47

Sunday:  late-night walking incident left DH carrying the dog home sans collar so Girls and I indulged our inner Essex at the Pet Store. The Wonder Hound is now the blingiest dog in Bromley I shouldn’t wonder. Being Girls we also made a few other purchases of shoes, craft stuff and storage: the Holy Trinity! Home to DH for lunch, a walk out along the sea front in the sunshine and then the regular drive back towards the Big Smoke. There wasn’t an evening to speak of: for the second night in a row, I fell asleep putting The Girls to bed. I’ve no idea how all three of us fitted in one single bed….

Monday: once the school run was finished, Dimples and I had to do a couple of jobs in Bromley. The first stop was the coffee shop and a Giant Bourbon, of course. And after we were finished, we went home for lunch and a date with a large cardboard box. An hour later, Dimples moved into her new home: the Gingerbread House of which I am terribly proud. DH was away overnight so both Girls tucked themselves up in bed with me. I find now that I sleep better when DH is away if they are there to take his place.

Tuesday: in a change to our schedule, Dimples now goes to school on Tuesday, rather than Friday. It was a shift recommended by her teacher at last week’s Parent Meeting and I hope it will help her settle in a little better. This freed me up to head into London for lunch with an old friend- although that’s not the reason I changed her day. Afterwards, we popped in to a friend’s house briefly (and ended staying an hour) and took home a huge bundle of clothes that will be perfect for our trip to Prague this Christmas.

Wednesday: the school run was a revelation: no tears from Dimples. I went home on a high, and spent a lovely morning teaching some of the mums how to make cakes. I’ve never done anything like that before, but everyone seemed to enjoy it and I really felt like I’d done something useful. With DH still snowed under with work, I collected my Girls and, unsurprisingly, fell asleep putting them both to bed.

Thursday: I’m currently writing a sleep diary for a project and it makes such dreadful reading since I seem to start every day feeling more tired than the last. I could happily have fallen back into bed after the school run but instead went for coffee and the most amazing treacle toffee muffin at Lavender House with a thoughtful friend. In fact my day was filled with friends, because Red Ted came for lunch with Pipsqueak. It never ceases to amaze me how generous people can be with their time and advice. Happily my girls filled the void after I she left: with their love of Milly-Molly-Mandy and their incessant chatter and their love of all things pink.

Friday: an unexpected day off school for Dimples. The new normal. So we tried a different Sports Tots group which Dimples was less sure of: it was much busier than the other group and she suffered a bit at the hands of some of the boys. But order was restored with a drink and a biscuit at a nearby coffee shop and she came home a happy tot. Granny came to visit and enjoyed playing with her and helping me come up with costumes for upcoming Christmas shows: The Girls will be Snowflake and Reindeer respectively. After collecting LBG from her playdate, we packed her off for a sleepover with Granny, whilst Dimples sobbed all the way home. She quickly got over it when allowed to stay up late, eat curry and sleep in Mamma’s bad.

Saturday: Dimples woke wanting her reindeer, so I made an early start on the costume and she wore antlers to breakfast. Then we took in a Christmas Fair, where we bought the dearest little handbags for The Girls. Dimples fell asleep just before we got to the driveway, so I parked up and waited for her to wake. And fell asleep. Granny and LBG came back moments after we made it into the house, full of stories and happiness. Then I was back in the car, ferrying LBG to a party whilst Dimples went on a special outing with Daddy. They were both exhausted by bedtime.