When I sat down to write today’s diary entry I was trying to think of how to sum up the day. It’s been difficult mainly because my children are refusing to go to sleep which manifests either with just coming downstairs constantly or, in the case of the youngest, screaming until we feel we have no choice but to pick him up. There had better be some long lies tomorrow otherwise everyone will be knackered and Friday will not be as happy a day as it should!
The weather continues to be pretty pants considering it is July. I excitedly look at the forecast every day, only to be left disappointed. Maybe I was right after all and May saw the start and end of the summer.
A busy day of #RemoteWorking mixed in with attempts to get some #HomeSchooling completed but there was still enough to make a top 5:
1. Steph and I have both continued with our running which has added an extra level of complexity given there are only 24 hours in the day. My allocated slot was 7.30am so out I went and splashed through the puddles. Weirdly I prefer morning runs, presumably because if I don’t get it out of the way I risk putting it off until it is too late to do it. 3 runs in 5 days but still 37 to do to complete my GNR Solo challenge. These things always seem like good ideas before you begin! 🏃♂️
2. As usual I took the kids out for our daily walk at lunchtime whilst Steph completed her run. That is definitely something I miss on the days I have to go into the office as it is the best time for my chats with E. The only negative is that sometimes I have to encourage her to keep walking at a pace above that of a snail. A very tired snail. Today I let M run the first bit to tire him out before strapping him into his pushchair. I then set off and turned to E who was lagging behind already. “Come on E!”
“I think I’d like a lie down and a cupcake. And a drink. And a deckchair.”
“Sorry, what?”
“A holiday Daddy. I need a holiday. Some sand and some cake and some drinks. Not alcohol because that’s only for you and Mammy. But a mocktail for me. Can we go on holiday as my legs are tired?”
Suffice to say today’s walk took quite a while! 🏖
3. We tried really hard today to get E back engaged with some educational material. Initially she tried to tell me that today was a weekend. “Thursdays and Sundays Daddy” but her tune quickly changed when I explained that just meant she had to do schoolwork on Saturday instead. We then asked her what she wanted to do and she mentioned Egypt so Steph printed off a load of activity sheets. It was a bit of a random mix of ancient and modern so Daddy started with the ancient (“because you are old Daddy, aren’t you!”) We started with some hieroglyphics and she had to work out the names of the Egyptian gods by matching the symbols to the letters. She actually really enjoyed it especially when we finished by getting her to write her own name in hieroglyphics (feather, owl, owl, hawk in case you’re interested!) What was even more fun was asking Daddy to google the gods so she could see the pictures of the half human half animal creatures. She did remind me at the end that there is only one real God… 🇪🇬
4. I am sorry to report that for the second time this week my son has drawn blood from my face. As far as our fights go it is definitely M 2 Daddy 0. Tonight’s altercation occurred after he tried to snap his new basketball hoop by using it as a seesaw. He was suitably reprimanded and was invited to come and say sorry. Instead he started clawing at my face like some kind of deranged badger (well that’s how I’d imagine a badger would fight) and in a very cleverly disguised move which fooled me completely managed to ram a finger up my left nostril and scratched me. E noticed the blood dripping from my nose and immediately took off upstairs to find help and returned with Steph and a Disney plaster. I am worried I might end lockdown with not only a scarred face but perhaps also a scarred daughter as when the bleeding stopped she wanted to know where the blood had gone and whether I was going to die from the blood loss. 🤕
5. My awesomeness continued tonight as I surprised Steph with a Pizza and Prosecco night ready for when she finished her late shift. Apparently it’s a thing and I took inspiration from the fact that an Amazon box arrived and to my surprise it contained 6 bottles of Prosecco. Steph reassures me that she “won” it in an online competition but I have my suspicions. I’m trying hard to steer away from the midweek drinking especially after taking the recycling out tonight and seeing all those miniature bottles (and not so miniature bottles) of gin and whisky in there. I don’t need to worry for the next three days though as they all count as weekend days, don’t they? 🍾🍕
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